


5 Times Merlin Surprised People

by Smcstrav



Series: 5 Times Merlin Surprised People [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, Friendship, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, underestimated!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 16:06:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5212190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smcstrav/pseuds/Smcstrav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is not the useless idiot that he is assumed to be.</p><p>This work contains the first two stories in the series 'Five Times Merlin Surprised People'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kindness

**Author's Note:**

> This collection of stories has been on my to-do list for quite some time. The basic idea of Merlin having unsuspected talents was what originally spawned my 'Harmony' story, but I had some other ideas I also wanted to explore.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the first story in the series 'Five Times Merlin Surprised People'.
> 
> Merlin takes care of an elderly visitor to Camelot without any idea of the man's identity and of his importance to the King.

"Who is this Lord again?" asked Merlin as he hoisted up a bag from the floor of the entrance hall. "And why exactly is your father so intent on impressing him?"

"His name is Lord Garrick, and he is the Regent King of the lands between our eastern border and the ocean," answered Arthur. "So he controls the main trade route to the port. Father wants to renew Camelot's access agreement with him."

"Ahh," said Merlin as, shifting the heavy bag to a more comfortable position, he took a step towards the stairway. The young servant still did not see why that made this King any more important than any other noble that came to visit. The man must be formidable if he had Uther bowing and scraping though.

Before Merlin could take another step, Arthur cleared his throat and pointed towards two large trunks and several more bags pushed up against the wall. "You'll need to take those up too," he said.

" _All_ of them?" complained Merlin. "Is his entire _army_ staying in those chambers _?_ He's only meant to be here for four days."

"Uh, no… it's just him and his father, King Ulmer," chuckled Arthur, "but Kings rarely travel light."

Or Regent Kings either, whatever those were, Merlin surmised with a scowl. He guessed that a 'Regent' was an heir that was beginning to take on more Royal duties; probably the King was getting quite elderly or something. He'd ask Arthur more about it later if he remembered. Right now he could only shake his head in dismay at the waiting pile of luggage and try to decide if it was better to attempt to pick up another of the bags, or to make more trips.

"And Merlin," Arthur called as he headed towards the Great Hall to greet the visiting Royals, "make sure you don't break anything. Lord Garrick is notoriously short tempered!"

"Oh _great,"_ Merlin grumbled under his breath, putting the second bag he'd hefted back down lest he drop it. "Just what I need, _another_ self-important noble telling me how useless I am."

* * *

"Lord Garrick, welcome to Camelot," said King Uther, clasping the arm of a middle-aged man who stood in front of the throne. "Arthur, come and meet my old foster brother," he added warmly as the Prince came into the room.

"Thank you, Uther," Lord Garrick answered, greeting first the King and then nodding towards Arthur as the Prince come up beside them. "It's been some time since I was last here, but the city is as beautiful as I remember it."

"Yes, little has changed since then, although the gardens have certainly benefitted from the roses gifted by your Lady Mother all those years ago," Uther said. "I was sorry to hear of her passing last spring," he added after a pause.

Garrick nodded, "It has been a difficult time. As you know, she was well loved by everyone and my father has never really recovered from his grief."

"I had guessed that was the reason for your being named Regent," admitted Uther. "How is King Ulmer? I saw him ride in with you. Is that a sign that he is improving?" he asked hopefully.

Lord Garrick gave a sad shake of his head. "I fear not. Although he is still whole of body, my father's mind remains trapped in the past. However, he wished to make the trip and I saw no reason to deny him, though he will be unable to participate in our talks."

Garrick smiled fondly, "He remembers more of you, these days, than of me, Uther. He seems to be dwelling back in the time you were his fosterling and so I am often made to relive many of our youthful exploits."

Arthur looked from one man to the other with a smile of his own. He hoped he would get a chance to ask Garrick about some of his father's childhood misadventures.

"Well, I do hope you are avoiding the punishments for them this time around," said Uther with a nostalgic chuckle. "But where is Ulmer now? Would you like me to have someone assigned to stay with him?" the King asked, wanting to be sure that he had done everything he could to ensure the comfort of his beloved foster father.

"No Uther, he should be fine," said Garrick. "One of my knights is watching over him and has taken him out to the gardens; he would not enter the castle until he had seen them again. He is in good hands."

Uther smiled with relief, "I apologize if these discussions are ill-timed for you," he said, "But with the unrest in Odin's Kingdom, I thought it prudent to make a show of strength by reinforcing our alliance. It will also let us plan an expansion of our security measures over the supply routes to the coast."

"I would not have made the journey if I did not agree with you, Uther," said Garrick, "and as I have only three days, I am ready to get started immediately."

"Excellent," said Uther, stepping down from the dais, and gesturing to Arthur and Lord Garrick to precede him towards the door. "I've had the maps brought into the Council Chambers. We can begin by updating those. After lunch, we can have our advisors join us to get into the details."

* * *

Merlin _hated_ hauling around luggage. If there was ever a chore begging to be helped by magic, this was surely it; well, this and mucking out the horses. He thought for a moment about trying a weight-lessening spell that he'd recently learned, but quickly and reluctantly discarded that idea. He was still not able to control the amount of power he put into his incantations, and when he'd tried that particular spell in the privacy of his chambers, his socks had ended up floating on the ceiling for hours.

In the end, it took the young servant five separate trips to bring everything up the four flights of stairs to the suite of rooms that had been prepared for Lord Garrick and his father.

Once he'd lugged in and deposited the last trunk, Merlin straightened up with a sigh, rolling his shoulders and his back to get out the kinks. He took a last look around the room to make sure everything was neatly arranged before deciding that he could go back to his own chambers and get some lunch. He'd already tidied Arthur's room, so the Prince would not need him until the evening. He would have plenty of time to do some work for Gaius and maybe even practice some spells before then.

As he passed by the Council chambers, where no doubt Arthur was already holed up with his father along with the King and his Regent, Merlin felt a pang of hurt. Another sigh escaped the warlock as again as he recalled exactly _why_ he had so much time on his hands.

 _He'd_ thought he'd been carrying his new duties as Arthur's servant quite well. Sure, Arthur teased him about how bad a servant he was, but Merlin had learned a _lot_ about courtly manners in the short time he'd been at the job. Besides the usual household chores that he'd done since childhood, he now knew where to stand while he poured wine; what all of the cutlery was for and where to position it; he knew when to clear away the dishes to make room for the next course – all things that never mattered in Ealdor, although they seemed extremely important here. Merlin also knew how to stand respectfully when attending Arthur during meetings, though admittedly he did not always bother with this. He'd also learned that caring for armour and warhorses was more complicated than he'd ever thought possible.

But apparently he was still not deemed worthy of even being in the _presence_ of whomever Lord Garrick and King Ulmer were.

"Arthur, your manservant is not allowed into the Great Hall, or any other place that would put him near our guests," Uther had announced earlier that morning. "I can't risk the clumsy buffoon spilling the wine or dropping a plate on them," the King had added, shooting a glare at the dark-haired servant. "There is too much at stake."

That had hurt and Merlin thought it was entirely unjustified. He hardly ever made mistakes like that anymore. The boy had wondered again exactly _who_ these men were, that Uther did not even want him in the same room. After all, Merlin had served Arthur plenty of times during visits from other nobles, and some of _them_ had been Kings too.

What was even worse though, was that rather than stick up for him, Arthur had laughed and even _agreed_ with his father.

But there was no sense in dwelling on it. At least Merlin was getting some free time out of the situation. He'd had precious little of _that_ since he'd arrived in Camelot.

* * *

After having a lunch where he was actually able to sit at the table to eat, Merlin headed out to do some deliveries for Gaius. He'd just dropped off the last of his bottles and bounded up the steps to the castle, when he saw an elderly man ahead of him; he'd obviously just entered the castle and was looking around in confusion. Merlin did not recognize him, but the quality and colours of his clothing marked him as one of the visiting nobles; probably the elderly father of one of the knights, who had been brought along for a sort of vacation.

"Oh there you are," said the old man, causing Merlin's brows to rise in surprise at having been addressed. "Have you been outside with Garrick?"

The mention of Regent King confirmed that the man was from the group of visitors, but Merlin also realized that the old man was not quite living in the present. He'd seen such a thing in some of Gaius' most elderly patients, and knew that the malady could not be cured. The best treatment seemed to be to play along when the memories were happy, and above all to keep a close watch on the patient, to ensure they did not wander away in their confusion and get lost.

After looking around the large entrance hall and confirming that the man's caretaker was nowhere to be seen, Merlin concluded that the elderly knight must have done just that. He quickly decided that he had better stay with the man until whoever was in charge of him came looking.

Giving a smile to the old knight, who was obviously seeing in him one of his young squires or fosterlings from many years ago, Merlin said, "Yes Sir, but he had to go and see to his horse, so I was coming to find you."

"Were you, then?" said the knight with a laugh, "Coming to hear some stories of valour and conquest, I'd wager."

Merlin took the old man by the arm and led him over to one of the benches by a large window overlooking the courtyard. "Oh yes, please. One with a battle and victory," he added, trying to imitate the child that the knight must have mistaken him for.

"Very well then, though your foster mother will have my head if I keep you from your chores," the man said, though his twinkling eyes showed that he was not overly concerned about the possibility.

Soon the knight was enthusiastically telling his story while Merlin sat with mouth open, as though in childish wonder and excitement. Truth be told, the young servant _was_ enjoying the tale; the old man may have been lost in his memories, but he was a good storyteller regardless.

It was midafternoon when a knight a few years older than Arthur rushed frantically up the steps, coming to a sudden stop when he saw the old man happily talking to the dark-haired servant. "Thank the Gods," the newcomer said quietly to Merlin after making his way over to the bench. "I've been searching half of Camelot for him. One moment he was walking beside me in the gardens, and the next thing I know he's disappeared.."

Merlin smiled at the man, "Don't worry; I guessed what had happened, and it was my pleasure to look out for him."

"Sir Clifford!" the old knight said to the newcomer, "Did you have a nice walk? I've been telling a story to my foster son here, but it is time for us all to get back to work I think."

The young knight looked at Merlin with an apologetic smile before turning back to his charge, "Yes My Lord, I will take you there right away," he said, taking the old man by the arm and helping him to stand.

Turning back to Merlin, Sir Clifford whispered gratefully, "Thank you for watching him," before heading over to the stairway leading into the living quarters of the castle.

* * *

Sir Clifford smiled as he watched his elderly charge. The old man was happier and more animated than Clifford had seen him in some time, and had told him all about the wonderful afternoon that he'd spent with his foster son.

It took the young knight some effort to sort between his charge's memories and his actual afternoon activities, but Clifford easily concluded that the young servant who had found the elderly man was the main reason for his happiness.

While he was reflecting, the door opened and Lord Garrick walked into the room.

"Clifford, how fares my father?" the Regent King asked, looking over to where the elderly man was now sitting at one of the window seats absorbed in one of the books that someone, probably Uther, had thoughtfully left on the desk.

"The King is very well, Sire," Sir Clifford answered. "He… had a bit of an adventure… or rather _I_ did," he added hesitantly.

Garrick looked at him questioningly. "Did he? What do you mean?"

"Well, he gave me the slip for a time," Clifford admitted. "But it worked out very well in the end, as one of Camelot's servants found him and entertained him all afternoon. The boy has done your father a world of good today."

That brought a grin to the Regent King's face. "Then bringing him to Camelot was the right decision," he said.

* * *

The dinner that evening was a quiet and private meal, with only Uther, Arthur, Garrick and Ulmer in attendance. The King wished to spend some time with his old foster father, even knowing that the man would likely not even remember him.

"How are your chambers?" Uther asked Garrick as an efficient young servant filled his cup of wine. The King briefly noted that _this_ servant had barely been noticeable during the meal, fading into the background as was only proper. However, Uther did have a moment of regret that his son's dark-haired manservant was not present. The boy was undeniably terrible at his job, but it was often quite amusing to watch him muddle through. The expressions on the young man's face when he made mistakes were almost worth the trouble those same mistakes caused, depending on whom the victim was of course.

"They are well very well appointed," the Regent answered, "And it was good of you to remember my father's love of books. He has already read through two of the ones that were left on the desk."

Uther smiled. He had many fond memories of Ulmer's love of stories and storytelling, having spent many nights listening in rapt attention to after-dinner tales when he was a young child. "It was no problem, my son selected those personally. He is much more of a reader than I ever was."

Arthur almost choked on the wine he'd just swallowed, feeling slightly guilty for having delegated the book-selection task to Merlin. His manservant _loved_ to read, and had chattered endlessly on about the merits of the different books he'd added to the pile on Arthur's desk the previous day. "Yes, I sent over some of my favourites," the Prince finally said, although in reality he had no idea what stories had actually been provided.

"Good stories, they were. Good stories," put in Ulmer, "Would you like to hear one? I could tell it. Yes, perhaps the one about the unicorn, now how did that go?"

Garrick patted the old King's hand, "Perhaps later on, father," he said. "We are still finishing our dinner."

"And I would like to know if you enjoyed your visit to the gardens," said Uther kindly.

"Oh yes, the gardens, they were lovely," said Ulmer, "and my wife loved them too." He looked around in confusion. "Now, where did she go to?" he asked.

Garrick shared a sad smile with Arthur and Uther before turning back to his father. "I believe she has gone back to our chambers," he said. "Would you like me to have Sir Clifford bring you there?"

"Yes, I should go to her," Ulmer said, "She does not like to be alone."

* * *

Once King Ulmer had been led out of the room, Uther sighed. "It is difficult indeed to see him in this state," he said. "He was such a powerful figure in my childhood memories."

Garrick gave a nod of agreement, "I brought him to Camelot in hopes that it would cheer him up. He loves this city." Turning to Arthur he added, "And he always had quite a soft spot for your father, though I'm not sure why. Uther caused his fair share of trouble, unlike me who was always a model Prince."

The three men laughed and Garrick said, "He has been happier today than I have seen him for many months, Uther."

"Oh? Well, I am glad to hear it," said the King.

"Yes, Sir Clifford told me that once they'd returned from the gardens, a kind young man sat and listened to his stories for most of the rest of the afternoon," Garrick explained. "I think Father thought it was you he was talking to, Uther."

The King chuckled, but at the same time felt a pang of sadness. In some ways he wished it _could_ have been him sitting and listening to the man. But since that would have been impossible, he was very grateful to whoever had taken the time to make an old man happy.

* * *

Merlin woke the next morning to a beautiful, warm and sunny day. He hoped that he would have some chores that took him outside the castle; something other than mucking out the horses, that was. He also admitted to himself that his real reason for wanting to be away from the castle had very little to do with the weather. The young servant simply did not want to be faced with whoever had taken his place – the 'better' servant. He knew he was being petulant about it all, but could not chase away his feelings of disappointment and self-doubt.

The young servant got his wish sooner than he'd expected.

"Merlin, I'm running low on many of my herbs," Gaius said as they ate their breakfast. "Since you've got reduced duties for Arthur today, would you mind going to the gardens to restock them?"

"Sure, Gaius," Merlin answered with relief. "I've got to bring Arthur his breakfast and clean up his room, but after that I'll be free for most of the day. It's probably a good time to get some of the ones that are further afield too, if you'd like."

* * *

"Rise and Shine, your Royal Pratishness," called out Merlin with a forced cheerfulness as he flung open the curtains in the Prince's chambers.

Not hearing any immediate answer, the young servant walked over to the large bed where Arthur was still lying asleep, and grasping the Prince's pillow, yanked it right out from under his head.

"Wha?…. Why are you here so early?" Arthur asked, holding tightly to the edge of his pillow, which he'd managed to catch hold of before Merlin had gotten it clear of the bed. "I don't have any training this morning, and I don't have to be in the Council Chambers for _hours,_ " he complained.

"Well, I need to collect some things for Gaius," Merlin said, relinquishing his hold on the pillow now that he'd seen a sign of life from Arthur. "So I need to finish up in here straight away." The servant went back to the table where he'd put the breakfast tray, and poured out a cup of tea. "Unless you have some other duties for me of course," he added.

"No, no, go ahead," said Arthur with a yawn as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed himself into something resembling upright. "I do envy you though, being outside in the sun rather than stuck in a stuffy room with a bunch of statesmen."

Merlin handed the Prince his tea. "I'm definitely intending to drop soup on your father the next time I see him," he said, trying his best to use his usual teasing tone. "I quite _like_ being banned from having to stand behind you all day long."

"Oh, so your clumsiness is all a ploy, is it?" Arthur asked. "I'll bet you turn into a model servant, come winter."

Merlin smiled back at the Prince from where he was already busy pushing a broom, but Arthur had somehow managed to pick up on his servant's real mood.

"Merlin, Lord Garrick is only here for a few days and then things will go back to usual," the Prince said, all trace of their usual banter gone.

The young servant lowered his eyes to the floor as though trying to locate some dust bunny that he'd missed, "And by then I'm _sure_ you'll be more than ready to have me embarrassing you with my peasant ways while you are in the company of _important_ people," he said. Although Merlin again tried for teasing, this time there was no mistaking the hurt in the retort.

"My father was wrong, Merlin," Arthur said softly, "You are doing just fine given the short time you've been at this job. But King Ulmer fostered my father for many years – and so my father is particularly touchy about anyone who serves him while he is visiting. He wants it to be _perfect_."

"Oh, I didn't know that," said Merlin looking up sharply at the information.

"Yes, and to be honest you are better off out of my father's sight just now, just in case any … _incident_ … did happen," said Arthur. "Not that it would of course," he added quickly.

Arthur's obvious concern finally brought a real smile to Merlin's face, "You could be right," he said. "I guess it's just as well I have something that will keep me away for the day."

* * *

Only a short time later Merlin was in the large gardens. They were just outside the castle walls, not far from the main gates to the courtyard.

The young servant always liked to start his collecting in the eastern corner where Gaius had cultivated the herbs that appreciated shady conditions. By midmorning he'd already brought two large sacks of mint, comfrey and thyme back to the Physician's quarters.

After cleaning them and setting them out to dry, Merlin had an early lunch and headed back to the gardens. This time he aimed for the sunny southern section just near the roses, since that's where the verbena and lavender were growing.

Before bending to his task, the young servant closed his eyes, turning in a slow circle and breathing in deeply the beautiful scent of the roses. This section of the garden was his favourite. Opening his eyes once more, he allowed himself a few minutes to appreciate the beauty of the many colourful blossoms around him.

Merlin had always found it strange how such a warrior King as Uther could have such a soft spot for flowers. But, just now, with the sun on his face and the birds singing in the trees around him, the young warlock decided it didn't much matter, and was only glad for the anomaly.

With a last smile and deep breath, he knelt down to begin his harvesting.

Merlin had only picked about half of a bag when the sound of cursing just on the other side of the pink rose bushes he was working near made him jump up in alarm. He'd been so concentrated on his herb collecting that he had not noticed that other people had come into this area of the garden.

The cursing was immediately followed by the sound of a hand striking flesh several times in succession, and the young servant decided he'd better go and investigate.

"What have you done, Clifford?" Merlin heard a familiar voice ask just as he rounded the bush. There ahead of him were the elderly noble and the knight he'd come across the previous day.

"Oh, good afternoon my boy. Best slow yourself down," said the old man when he noticed Merlin rushing up to them. "I think Sir Clifford has had a bit of a run-in with a wasp, and I would not want you stung too," he added, nodding towards the young knight who was cradling his arm and scowling.

"It was more like fifty wasps," Clifford said in anger, or perhaps embarrassment. "I must have disturbed a nest when I tried to pick the flower he wanted."

Merlin frowned. "Here, let me take a look," he offered.

Clifford hesitated for a moment, not knowing what a servant or gardener or whatever this boy was could possibly do for him. Merlin's concern along with the care he'd given Ulmer the day earlier soon won out over his doubts and the knight held his arm out.

Merlin gently but quickly raised Sir Clifford's sleeve and turned the arm slightly, peering intently at the area where most of the stings were located. "I'd say you were right about it being fifty wasps," the young servant said looking back up at the knight. "And judging by how fast this is swelling, you may be having some sort of reaction. Have you ever had a bad encounter with a bee or wasp before?"

"No, I don't think so," said Clifford, wincing as the throbbing in his arm began to intensify.

Merlin noticed the knights increased pain and lowered the sleeve again carefully. "That's good, but you need to go and see Gaius, our physician, to treat it," he said. "The amount of poison from that many stings should not be taken lightly."

Clifford hesitated, glancing over to where the elderly knight was wandering happily among the nearby roses. "I cannot leave him on his own," he whispered to Merlin reluctantly. "I'll have to take care of it once he goes for supper."

"I don't mind staying with him," Merlin volunteered. "I'll have plenty of time to finish up this herb-collecting for Gaius once you return."

Sir Clifford looked up hopefully, "Are you sure?" he asked, "I would not want to get you in trouble with your master over _my_ clumsiness."

"That's okay," the young servant answered wistfully. "I'm already in trouble because of my _own_. Actually, that's why I'm out here today rather than attending to him in the castle."

The knight raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had a hard time imagining that the youth would be the type to fail in his duties. Although he had only interacted with the boy twice, that had been enough for Clifford to see that the servant was both competent and quick-witted. Most telling of all was how much King Ulmer had enjoyed the previous afternoon. In spite of his failing mind, the elderly man would never have suffered the company of a dullard.

The young knight would have liked to learn more but his arm was now throbbing so fiercely that it almost brought tears to his eyes. "Well thank you for your help," he said, deciding to put his questions on hold, and after checking that Ulmer was still busy enjoying the garden Sir Clifford hurried back towards the castle.

* * *

Merlin set down his herb bags in a place where they'd be safe until he could collect them later on, and caught up to the old knight. "These are my favourites in the entire garden," the young servant said, bending close to the pink roses that Ulmer was admiring, and breathing in their sweet scent.

The elderly man smiled, "You have the same fancy as your foster mother then, my boy," he said, obviously slipping back into his memories. "I am not much surprised. You always do seem to share her tastes."

"Or perhaps she shares mine," Merlin answered with a grin. Although the young servant had never even learned the elderly knight's name, his previous afternoon with the man left him certain that the knight appreciated good-natured teasing. A soft chuckling told Merlin that he wasn't wrong about it.

* * *

When Sir Clifford finally returned, it was to find Merlin and Ulmer sitting at one of the tables set up in the middle of the garden. The young knight paused before they saw him, and was amazed to find his King laughing heartily at some riddle that the young servant had just stumped him with. It gladdened Clifford's heart to see the old man happy. It had been an exceedingly rare occurrence since his wife had died.

"I'm sorry to have taken so long," Clifford said to Merlin as he joined them at the table. "Your physician would not let me leave until he was sure the swelling was going down."

Merlin smiled, "Yes, that sounds like Gaius," he said. "He's very thorough."

"Have you returned from patrol already, Sir Clifford?" asked Ulmer, obviously having forgotten where his knight had been. "Well that's fortunate, because I think it is time to head back into the castle. I need to check that my son is not hiding away from his duties," he added, pushing himself to his feet.

"Certainly, my Lord," Clifford answered, standing quickly in order to take the old man by the arm. "Thank you for taking care of him for me," he whispered to Merlin as the young servant also rose from the table.

"Come along young man," Lord Ulmer ordered when he noticed that Merlin was not joining the nobles as they started along the path towards the castle. "I'm sure you've also got your chores to do, as much as I know you love to hide away in the gardens."

Merlin smiled back at the old man, "Yes, I promise I will be along in a few moments," he said.

"Well, see that you are," Ulmer said with a chuckle, before allowing himself to be led on his way.

Sir Clifford turned back to see that the young servant was watching them leave, a look of wistfulness on his face. The knight remembered that the young man been barred from serving his master in the castle and wondered again at the reason. He guessed it could not be anything too dire, or the boy would have been punished or dismissed outright, and not simply reassigned.

* * *

Lord Garrick entered his chambers after a long day of discussions to find his father laughing as he related something to Sir Clifford.

"Hello Father, it's good to see you so cheerful," Garrick said, taking the glass of wine that Clifford held out to him. He took an appreciative sip before walking over towards the fireplace, where he took one of the comfortable chairs near Ulmer.

"Ho, I've been wondering when you would come home," the old man said with a twinkle in his eye. "Skipping out on your chores and leaving them all to your foster brother, I see," he added teasingly.

Garrick shot a look of confusion over to Clifford, before turning back to his father. "Yes, Sire, you know me too well," he said with a smile.

As Ulmer prattled on about riddles and roses, the Regent King beckoned Sir Clifford over. "Foster brother?" he whispered.

"Your father has spent the afternoon with the same young man as looked after him yesterday," the Knight whispered back. "The boy is not a noble, though. I believe he is some sort of servant to the physician, and quite bright from what I've seen."

Ulmer evidently caught the last part, "Ah that boy. Such a wit!" he laughed. "I've not had such a pleasant test in many a day. No wonder your mother dotes so on him."

Lord Garrick chuckled and turned back toward Clifford, "A servant, you say? I wonder if the physician would give him up," he asked. "Any man who can bring my father this much pleasure is worth his weight in gold."

The young knight nodded thoughtfully. "You know, he may be willing," he said. "The boy was in the gardens as a punishment, from what I understand. Perhaps he's not suited to the tasks he has here."

"That would be fortunate for us," Garrick said. "Let us look into it, Clifford."

* * *

Merlin yawned as he made his way up the steps into the castle. He was looking forward to getting back to his chambers and getting into some clean, dry clothes. Once he had finished in the castle gardens, he had trekked out to a nearby bog to search for some of Gaius's rarer supplies. As usual though, getting his hands on them came with a bit of a price, and now the young servant was soaked from head to toe with the foul-smelling swamp water.

He hoisted his heavy sack and gave a smile. Even though he was still upset about having been barred from serving Arthur, all in all his day had been a good one.

A sudden commotion in the entry hall made Merlin look up quickly, and to his surprise the old knight that he seemed to keep coming across was hobbling as quickly as he could manage towards him, a look of concern on his face.

"My boy, what's happened to you?" the man asked. "Have you been hurt?"

Merlin smiled warmly, "No, My Lord, I'm just a little wet is all. In fact, I'm just on my way to get changed."

"Good lad," said the old man with relief, "Then you had best hurry. Dinner starts very shortly."

As Merlin had expected, Sir Clifford was following closely behind his elderly charge, and soon joined them. The knight smiled at Merlin when he reached them, although Merlin was getting quite embarrassed at being addressed by the nobles while he was in such a filthy state.

The young servant's discomfort turned into outright alarm when a tall, elegant man, who had up until then been blocked from Merlin's view, also made his way over to the three. "Well Clifford, is this the young man who has been keeping my father so well entertained?" the newcomer asked.

The blood drained from Merlin's face so quickly that he began to feel dizzy, for this man could surely be none other than Lord Garrick. That meant that the old knight who Merlin had been looking after was Ki…. Ki…. _King Ulmer!_ The very men he'd been so firmly ordered to stay away from.

A sudden buzzing in his ears prevented him from fully hearing Sir Clifford's confirmation. "Yes, Sire, this is the lad I've been telling you about."

"Very good," smiled the Regent King and turning back to address Merlin, Garrick said, "My boy, I had hoped to have a word with your Master. When would be a good time to do so?"

Merlin frowned in confusion, wondering for a moment why the Regent King wanted to speak with Arthur when he had already been with the Prince for most of the day. But as his shock wore off, the young warlock felt quite silly when he realized that Garrick could have no idea who his master was.

Merlin decided that it would be much wiser to keep things that way, at least until he could explain to Arthur that meeting the visiting Royals had been accidental. "Well, Sire, I would hate to make you late for your dinner," he said, "so if you like, I could bring him to your quarters later tonight or maybe after you've had your breakfast tomorrow."

"Garrick, leave the boy alone," cut in King Ulmer crossly, before his son could answer Merlin. "Can you not see how cold and wet he is?"

"That's alright, Sire," said Merlin, smiling affectionately at the old man. The Regent King gave Clifford an approving look when Ulmer immediately responded with a smile of his own. Merlin continued, "I promise I'm on my way to clean up now."

Once he was sure that Ulmer had calmed, Merlin turned back to Garrick, hoping he could quickly take his leave before anyone saw him talking to the Regent King. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to excuse himself, he heard the voice of the person he'd most wanted to avoid.

The young servant spun, and to his absolute dismay he saw Arthur coming up the steps leading into the castle. Worse still, the Prince was not alone. Uther was right behind his son. Merlin stood rooted to the spot. It crossed his mind that he should run before Arthur and the King noticed him, but it was already far too late for that.

Just as Merlin had expected, it was only moments before Uther caught sight of him. The King's initial surprise at seeing the bedraggled and dripping young servant right in middle of the party of visiting Royal's rapidly turned into anger.

Uther advanced on the horrified boy and Merlin could not prevent himself from edging away from the King in self-defence. Unfortunately, in his haste to get away, the servant backed straight into Lord Garrick, causing the Regent King to stop him from going further by placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

At the sudden contact, Merlin tried to turn in order to see what was blocking him, but this only made him slip due to his wet boots. The servant ended up falling on the floor right at Garrick's feet, dropping his very full sack of herbs on the way down. Merlin made a grab as the bag began to tilt, but he only managed to push it over that much faster. Soon half of the contents were on the floor with most of the herbs covering Garrick's and Uther's boots.

"You!" shouted Uther, reaching over and grabbing Merlin by the collar, hauling him to his feet. "How DARE you disobey me!"

"I'm so sorry, Sire," stammered Merlin. "It was all an accident. I was just on my way to Gaius' chambers, and they were here, and I didn't know…" he trailed off. Uther was not listening, not that Merlin expected any differently.

"Now look what you've done!" the King continued to rage, giving Merlin a shake. "This is _exactly_ the type of disaster I expected to avoid. You should be nowhere near this hall while Lord Garrick and King Ulmer are present."

"Father, he _said_ he ran into them when he was coming through the hall on his way home," Arthur pitched in, taking his servant by the arm and moving him away from the irate King. "He did nothing wrong. And it's just a bit of dirt on the floor," he added. "I'm sure Merlin will have it cleaned up again in no time. _Won't_ you Merlin?"

"Yes, yes, straight away," said the servant shrugging Arthur off and bending to start collecting up the fallen plants. He purposely avoided looking at anyone as he worked, and hoped they would all just leave.

However, the herb-covered boots made no immediate move. "You'd better get every last leaf, you clumsy oaf," Uther said to him between clenched teeth. "And as a reward for your blatant disobedience, once you are finished here, don't expect to see the outside of the dungeons for at least a month."

Merlin's heart sunk. "Yes, Sire. I understand," he whispered, although he really didn't. It was so unfair. How had he been supposed to know that the elderly man with the failing memory had been the visiting King?

The servant sighed in resignation. If he'd only kept away from Lord Ulmer earlier, the elderly man would not have had any reason to seek him out in the hall just now, and Merlin would have avoided any punishment. But he knew in his heart that even if he had known Ulmer's real identity, the man had needed his help, and so Merlin would not in good conscience have done anything differently.

"Father, a month?" he heard Arthur ask. "That's a bit excessive for spilling a bag of plants…and what am I meant to do without my manservant for all that time?"

Merlin winced. He was touched that the Prince was trying to intervene, but suspected that Uther would not appreciate being contradicted in front of his guests.

"Get a proper one, is what!" shouted Uther, proving Merlin right. "Arthur, you and he should be thankful that I have not sacked him on the spot. And if I hear another word on it, I may still do so."

With that the King decided that he'd had enough of the young servant's presence, and without waiting for Merlin to finish collecting up his herbs, the King shouted "Guards!" gesturing to the pair of sentries who were standing by the entryway to the castle.

"Uther, I don't think this is necessary..." said Lord Garrick, trying to stop the King from punishing the servant. It appeared that the boy had been ordered to keep away from the Regent King, in which case Garrick considered himself at fault. After all he had been the one to seek Merlin out, and not the other way around. "It was I ..." he began to explain, but got no further because his father had also decided to object, and much more dramatically as it turned out.

"Stop!" cried out the old man. "What do you think you are you doing?" he asked as the two guards closed in on Merlin. "Stop this moment or I will have you relieved of your duties," he said in the voice of command that he'd honed over a long lifetime.

The guards hesitated and looked to Uther who impatiently gestured at them to continue. In the King's opinion, the sooner the blasted boy was out of sight the better it would be for everyone.

When Ulmer saw that the guards were still intent on restraining … he could not quite recall the boy's name … he decided to take matters into his own hands. Shaking off Sir Clifford, who was supporting the old man by the elbow, Ulmer began to hobble towards the guards. "You will not touch him!" shouted Ulmer, shaking his fists in anger and giving hard push to the guard who was closest to reaching Merlin.

The motion was enough to destabilize the elderly King, and Ulmer fell heavily to the ground where he lay in confusion, having forgotten how he'd come to be there.

"Lord Ulmer!" cried out Uther. "Help him up you idiots," he snapped at the guards who had stopped their advance and were standing unsure of what to do next.

"No, stop" called Merlin urgently when one of the two guards reached down with the intention of pulling the old man upright. "He may be hurt. Let me check him over before you let him get up."

Merlin was seemingly unaware that he was ordering about three Kings and a Prince, not to mention a knight and two palace guards. The young servant only had thoughts for the old man lying on the floor.

"Stay away from him," Uther objected, moving to block Merlin's hurried advance and reaching down with the intention of helping Ulmer himself.

"No!" cried the old man, holding up his hands to ward Uther off. "I want the boy. Only he may come near."

Uther stopped and shot an incredulous look back at Garrick.

The Regent King shrugged, "Yes Uther, that's what I was about to tell you. The boy has been helping Clifford with my father these last days and has established some sort of bond with him. I was rather hoping I could steal the lad away from Camelot, as I have not seen my father so engaged and happy in a very long while."

Uther turned back towards his prone foster father and could only watch in amazement as Merlin smiled and spoke soothingly to the old man. The servant quickly and competently patted down Ulmer's legs and arms, testing for injury, and asked some questions that Uther knew would help detect any hurt to the man's head. The King could not deny that regardless of how Ulmer had come about meeting the boy, the two were fond of each other and Arthur's servant knew what he was doing.

Finally Merlin looked up at Garrick and Uther and said, "He seems to be fine, though maybe it would be best if you have Gaius take a look."

Garrick nodded and beckoned to Sir Clifford who was looking on in concern.

Merlin offered a smile of reassurance to the young knight and turned back towards Lord Ulmer. "Are you ready to get up, My Lord?" he asked.

"Yes, my boy," the elderly man answered, glaring at Uther who had taken a couple of steps forward, intending to offer his hand.

The King halted his advance although he stayed ready to jump in, lest the clumsy manservant not be up to the task.

He needn't have worried. Merlin expertly placed his hands behind Ulmer's shoulders and then at his elbows. This gave the old man not only the support he needed, but also a measure of dignity, allowing the old King to stand mainly under his own power. All the while the boy continued to smile and speak kindly.

"Father, Sir Clifford is going to bring you for a small visit to the physician's chambers," Garrick said, as Merlin relinquished his hold to the young knight. "You must remember Gaius," he added, "So I am sure you will enjoy having a talk with him."

"Gaius?" asked Lord Ulmer, his eyebrows crinkling as he tried to remember why the name sounded familiar. "Oh yes, _Gaius_!" he said with a smile. "Are we in Camelot then? Is he not Uther's physician?" At Garrick's nod of confirmation, the old man continued, "Such a nice young man he is. Yes, I should like to visit with him."

As Sir Clifford began to lead him away, Ulmer stopped and turned back towards Merlin. "Young man," he said sternly, "I shan't be gone very long. I expect that by the time I return, you will be properly dressed and ready for dinner."

"Yes, Sire," answered Merlin with a grin, "Don't worry, I would not dare to be late. Now do not let me hold up your visit."

With a last nod at Merlin, certain that the boy would obey, the old King allowed Sir Clifford to lead him away.

Once Ulmer had left the hall, Garrick, Uther and Arthur all turned their attention to Merlin, who was still watching where the old King had disappeared.

When he noticed all eyes on him, the young servant caught his breath and with trepidation took a defensive step backward. The guards who had come forward earlier to take him into custody were still just behind Uther, waiting uncertainly for their next orders.

It was Lord Garrick who spoke first. "That was well done, young man. You have a gift for dealing with people, if I may say so."

Merlin gulped and glanced at Uther, certain that the King would be quick to contradict _that_ opinion.

Before Uther could say anything, Arthur added his own praise. "Yes he does have his moments," the Prince said. "Between bouts of being a walking disaster zone, of course," he added, the twinkle in his eye clearly showing his affection for the young servant.

Lord Garrick looked from Arthur to the serving boy and back again, and then towards the King. "Uther, as I said, I was hoping to ask young Merlin if he would consider joining my household. He would make a fine companion for my father."

Merlin looked up sharply, eyes wide in surprise at the unexpected offer.

Uther studied him for a moment, and Merlin was completely unable to read the King's expression.

"Well boy," Uther said finally, "would you accept such a position?"

Merlin opened and shut his mouth several times. "Thank you very much for asking me, Sire," he said to Lord Garrick gratefully. "But although I really would like to help your father, I think I would prefer to stay in Camelot."

Beside him, Arthur let out a loud breath of relief, covering it with a cough when he realized that he had shown some emotions that he would have preferred to keep hidden.

Merlin did not miss it, and gave him a tiny smile before turning back to Garrick and Uther. "It's just that my mother is nearby, and my friends are all here," he said. "Also, I do enjoy working for my current Master, and….well… he needs me, I think."

Uther actually snorted at that, and it was his turn to hide the reaction in a cough.

Garrick nodded, smiling at the two young men. "I'm certain he does," said the Regent King with a chuckle. "I am not surprised by your rejecting my offer, Merlin, but I had to ask you just in case. If you are sure….?"

"Yes Sire, I'm sure," the young servant answered.

"Then there is no help for it," Garrick said with a last smile at Merlin. Turning back to the King, he added, "Now, if you will excuse me, I shall head to the Great Hall so that I may get an early cup of mead. I have been looking forward to a Camelot-style feast for the entire day!"

As Garrick took his leave, Uther fixed his glare back on Merlin.

Arthur gave the serving boy a reassuring slap on the back, but Merlin still glanced towards the waiting guards. The servant was completely unsure how the King would react to what had just happened.

Uther said slowly, "Tell me the truth. Did you take care of King Ulmer hoping for some sort of reward?"

"What?" Merlin asked with surprise. "No, of course not! I did not even know who he was," he said. "And why would I expect to be rewarded just for treating an old man like I would like to be treated myself someday?"

"Yes, but this old man was a noble – a _King_ ," Uther insisted.

Merlin looked at him incredulously, and paused before continuing. "Sire, forgive me for being blunt, but whether King or farmer, I think we all wish for the same things when we are in need: a little bit of respect, dignity and some kindness."

Uther continued to glare at him, but finally the King nodded thoughtfully and to Merlin's relief he waved the waiting guards back towards their usual posts. "Now boy," said the King, "Ulmer said he expects you dressed and in the Great Hall by the time he returns. I suggest you do not disobey his orders."

Merlin stood rooted in place, shooting a confused look towards Arthur.

"Nor mine," Uther continued. "I have decided that for the duration of his stay, you will act as Ulmer's manservant. You will naturally receive additional compensation for this important extra responsibility. Arthur will have to make do without you for a few days."

"Thank you, Sire," Merlin whispered, while Arthur grinned at him proudly. "I will be right there."

"Oh, and boy?" Uther added, turning back one last time. "Do _try_ to stay dry…."


	2. Languages - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the second story in the series 'Five Times Merlin Surprised People'.
> 
> People assume that Merlin's peasant background mean he is uneducated and unintelligent.   
> When a mysterious illness threatens the border towns, Merlin has a chance to prove them wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part one of five.

Merlin whistled as he bounded up the steps to the physician's chambers. He took them two at a time, full of the restless energy of youth even though he'd been out running errands since just after sunrise that morning.

"Ah, Merlin. I'm glad you are back," called out Gaius as his ward came into the room. "Did you manage to find any white comfrey?"

"Yes, I got two full bags," Merlin answered, coming over to the workbench where his mentor was busily chopping away at a large pile of rosemary. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back with it, but I had to go further into the forest than I expected."

Gaius looked up from his preparations as Merlin began to take the leafy plants out of the cloth sacks he was carrying and placing them into a neat pile at the edge of the workbench.

"That looks to be a good harvest," the physician said gratefully, "and just in time too. I'm almost to the point where I need to add it to my infusion."

Merlin looked about the workshop with interest once he had deposited the last bunch of comfrey. Beside the comfrey and rosemary were three other small piles of herbs already cut up and ready for use, and there were several pots bubbling away over the flames. Further into the room, the servant could see glass bottles lined up all along the edge of the table where he and Gaius usually took their lunch, with countless books, parchments and scrolls strewn haphazardly over the rest of the surface.

Once Merlin had folded up his now empty sack and put it on the shelf, he walked over to the table to take a closer look. Spying the bread and cheese that Gaius must have left him for lunch among the clutter, he took a chunk of each, cleared himself a small space and sat down. "What are you working on, Gaius?" asked Merlin after he'd eaten a couple of bites. "Has there been some disaster while I was out? You seem to be making an awful lot of medicine."

"Indeed," said Gaius, looking over towards his ward. "Though it was brought to my attention last night rather than while you were out getting the comfrey." The physician paused in his explanation in order to reach over and pick up a measure of the finely chopped lemon balm. Dropping it into his mortar, he began to grind it to a paste. "There have been reports of a strange malady in towns near the south-western border," he continued, after ensuring that his mixture was taking on the right consistency. "Something that affects the memory of the afflicted."

"Memory?" asked Merlin in surprise, "I've never heard of anything like that before."

"Nor have I," admitted Gaius. "But knights sent out to guard a transport of barley seeds to two of the villages in the area came back with a report that the ploughing had not even started yet. They said that apparently the townsfolk had _forgotten_ that Uther was sending the grain in order to help revitalize their farmland."

Merlin frowned, "How can that be possible, Gaius?" he asked. "And if it affected entire _villages_ like that, why are we only finding out about it now? They should have started preparing the fields over a month ago, and people must have been falling ill even before then for it to have taken such a firm hold. Surely the garrison at Marneford would have sent word back."

"They may not have been able to," Gaius answered. "I suspect that this illness must also have struck there. We should know soon. Some of the knights continued on towards the garrison to investigate while the others brought word back to us here in Camelot."

Merlin pursed his mouth in thought for a moment while letting his gaze wander idly over the nearby scrolls. Spotting a parchment titled 'Treatments to Soothe Manipulations of the Inner Minde', the warlock frowned and carefully pulled on it so not to disturb the rest of the pile. "You think it's magical?" he asked, after scanning through it and confirming that the 'manipulations' were mainly referring to incantations and other spells.

"I don't know yet, Merlin," Gaius answered. "As you can see, I`ve much research to do, but for now what I am preparing ought to alleviate some of the symptoms."

The physician lifted his mortar and peered intently at the contents. Satisfied, he put the dish down, added some rosemary into the mix and picked up his pestle once more. "These herbs are known to improve memory and concentration, and also to alleviate anxiety," he explained.

Merlin took a deep, appreciative sniff as Gaius began to crush the aromatic leaves. For once, the scent of the medicine under preparation was not unpleasant. "But why the comfrey, Gaius?", he asked. "I don't recall it having any properties like that."

Gaius looked up sharply, as though surprised that Merlin knew this. "Well, given how advanced this illness is, I've brewed a very potent elixir. The comfrey will balance of some of the negative …. intestinal discomfort… that some of the other herbs may cause."

"Ah… I understand," Merlin answered knowingly.

Gaius gave him a small smile and continued, "The white variety that I asked you collect is reported to be more efficacious than the more common one."

As Gaius turned his attention back to his preparation, Merlin poked once again among the scrolls strewn on the table. "Gaius, perhaps I could help you with some of your research," the young man said, hoping that his mentor would take him up on the offer. Merlin missed reading. In spite of how many books there were in Camelot compared to what had been available in his home town, he'd not really had much opportunity since he'd come to the city. Gaius did send him to find the occasional basic tome in the archives, but besides those and his book of magic, he was kept far too busy with cleaning and errand running to do any significant studying.

Gaius looked up from his work once again, studying the warlock for moment. "No, best leave it to me for now," he said finally. "Most of those books are in Latin, and even the ones that are not are quite complex in their descriptions of medical conditions."

Merlin frowned, taken aback. It almost sounded like Gaius was skeptical of his abilities. "But Gaius," he said, wanting to reassure himself that he was mistaken, "I _can_ read Latin. My mother even taught me French and some Greek, and since she was a healer in our village, I have read medical texts before… I'm sure I could manage."

Gaius continued to look at him uncertainly, as though struggling to find the right words to convey his doubts. "Merlin, I know you want to help," he said slowly, "But I suspect that your mother did not have as many resources for teaching you as we have here, and unfortunately, I have not yet had enough time to assess what you have learned from her. I simply cannot take the risk that you may overlook or misunderstand something." Before Merlin could object, the physician added, "Don't worry, once the cause of this illness has been sorted out, I will test you on your knowledge and tutor you on any skills you may be weak in."

Merlin lowered his eyes, not wanting to meet those of his mentor. "But you've often seen me using my book of magic, and you _know_ how complicated that is. Doesn't that give you enough proof?" he asked hesitantly.

Gaius shook his head slightly, "Unfortunately not," he answered kindly. "You see, the language of the old religion _makes_ itself understood by magic users, and the ease with which such people absorb the words is directly proportional to the strength of their magic." The old man smiled, "So I'm not at all surprised that _you_ find it rather easy to make sense of."

Merlin made no answer, just continued to fiddle with the scrolls on the table, not looking back up at the physician. The young warlock could not understand how Gaius could think his education might be lacking, but could think of no further argument to prove him wrong.

"In any case, what I _really_ need help with is chopping of the comfrey, and then bottling up these mixtures," Gaius said with a forced cheeriness, wanting to break the awkward silence that had begun to drag on. "And you have proven very efficient at that, my boy." Gaius hoped the compliment would take the sting out of his earlier words.

"Yeah, of course I will be happy to do whatever you think I'm best suited for," Merlin answered dully, and pushing the scroll he'd been touching back into the pile, he got to his feet and joined Gaius at the workbench. Still without looking his mentor in the eyes, the warlock took out a chopping knife and bent to his task without a further word.

* * *

Gaius let out a quiet sigh of relief when the last dose was in its vial and stoppered. A Merlin without his usual cheerful chatter was very disconcerting. The physician was surprised at how he'd come to relish it in the short time Merlin had been in his life, especially given the many years he'd worked comfortably in silence before then.

"Well, if you don't need me for anything else, I'd best get back to Arthur," Merlin said, wiping his knife off, and putting it away. "He's sure to have a dozen chores waiting for me by now."

"I will see you at dinner then," Gaius answered. He could tell that the boy was still unhappy, but trusted that Merlin's usual resilience would see him back in good spirits before too long. The physician also decided to put more effort into teaching his ward. It was obvious that Merlin wanted to learn and Gaius saw no harm in indulging him. Perhaps the boy could someday reach a point where Gaius _would_ be able to trust him for research. But that would have to wait until after this current crisis was dealt with.

* * *

"Ow," cried out Merlin, when he was struck by a flying goblet within moments of opening the door to Arthur's chambers. "Now look what you've done!" he complained. "I'm going to have to wash all of this _again!"_

Arthur stood near the window, grinning at his handiwork. "Well, if you'd been on time, the goblet would have still been too full for me to throw, so you've only yourself to blame."

The servant rubbed at his shoulder. The cup had not really hurt him, although it did smart a bit where it had hit. Merlin was more concerned with the droplets of wine that had splattered all across the clean laundry in the basket he'd been bringing into the room.

The servant glared at the Prince. "I _told_ you that I had some errands to do for Gaius this morning, and anyway, you said I did not need to be here until after noon.

"No, I _said_ to be here on the stroke _of_ noon," Arthur countered, still grinning, "but I guess it was too much to expect that a peasant boy would understand the subtle nuances of timekeeping."

"I guess it was," Merlin answered without any trace of his usual banter, and he immediately turned his back to the Prince, using the excuse of stooping to pick up the goblet that had rolled to the wall.

Normally Merlin would have let the comment bounce right off him. After all, Arthur called him an idiot at least ten times every day, and the young servant _knew_ that the Prince used the term affectionately more than anything else.

Or… well… that had always been his assumption. But, given the talk he'd just had with Gaius, Merlin began to wonder if maybe Arthur really _did_ think of him as uneducated, or even as unintelligent. He scowled, realizing that Arthur probably did think just that. After all, the warlock had had even less of chance to prove anything different to the Prince than he'd had with his mentor.

Arthur's smile slid from his face, not knowing what had got his servant into such a foul mood. He frowned at Merlin's back for a moment, before deciding that getting down to business might be the best course of action.

"Merlin, I must join my father in a council session this afternoon," he began. "And rather than subject you to facts and figures, you should be happy to know that I've got some errands for you to run in town."

Merlin clenched his fists. There it was again - that slight on his intelligence. As if understanding 'facts and figures' was beyond him or something. Actually Merlin _liked_ to listen when the King and his advisors went over reports. The servant found it fascinating how the calculations could point to shortages or surpluses of supplies even several years in advance, and how those findings would guide the trade and other policies that kept the kingdom running.

"Yeah, I'm ecstatic," Merlin replied flatly, forcing his fingers to loosen their grip on the goblet. He turned with a sigh, set the cup down on the table by the wall, and walked the few paces to where he'd dropped the basket of clothes when he'd been hit. "I'll go as soon as I've brought this _back_ to the laundry and washed it _again,_ " he said.

Merlin seemed a lot less enthusiastic by the prospect of an afternoon in town than Arthur had expected. So, rather than try to tease his servant by warning him not to linger too long at the pie stand, or to keep his attention off of the pretty farmer's daughter in the vegetable stall lest he walk into some knight and end up in the stocks like he did last time, the Prince simply listed off the things he needed Merlin to collect.

"Yes, Sire," was the only answer Merlin gave before turning back towards the door. Although the tone of the words was properly subservient for a servant, it sounded completely wrong coming from the young man.

Just as the Merlin reached out unlatch the door, Arthur added, "Oh, and before you head out, I need you to bring something back to the archives."

Merlin turned back towards the Prince and waited while Arthur retrieved a thick book, which he laid carefully on top of the clothes in the basket. The servant said nothing, but he was a little surprised. It was rare that Arthur brought books to his room, preferring to read in the library or have somebody else summarize and report on the information he wanted.

"I was doing some research on the French throwing-axe," the Prince explained, noticing Merlin's questioning look. "Some of the bandits in the southern forest have taken to using it, and we did not defend well the last time we met up with such a group."

Merlin nodded as he remembered the outing. He'd used his magic to divert at least three of the flying weapons, but even so, one knight had been killed and four more injured before the brigands had been sent running. "Did the book help?" the servant asked, curious despite his lingering frustration with Arthur, Gaius, and, well… the world in general.

"To an extent," Arthur answered, glad that Merlin seemed to have perked up a little bit. "This volume has some drawings of the techniques used by the Franks, though I do not think the bandits we faced had refined their throwing that much."

Merlin almost reached up to open the book and see for himself, but quickly changed his mind. His self-confidence had already taken a beating, and he did not want to take the risk that Arthur would make some comment about him not being able to understand what he read.

"It has still given me a few ideas about how to deal with them the next time we face them," the Prince added.

Merlin looked wistfully at the book for another moment. "I'm glad you found it useful," he said. Turning back towards the door the servant mumbled, "I'll be back before dinner." And without giving Arthur a chance to reply, Merlin hefted the laundry basket into a more comfortable position on his hip, lifted the latch and escaped into the hallway.

* * *

Merlin's stop at the laundry rooms did not take very long. He vented a small part of his frustrations with a furious scrubbing of the soiled clothing, and that, along with a rebellious touch of magic, soon had the three shirts completely wine-free. He hesitated for a moment and then decided to lay the garments out on the drying frame along the wall. Normally he would have brought them back to Arthur's chambers and hung them by the fire, as he'd intended earlier, but decided there was too much risk that the Prince would still be in his rooms.

After a last check that the shirts were properly secured, Merlin bent down to pick up the book on French axe-throwing, and pushed his basket under the bench where he could retrieve it later.

* * *

Merlin stopped in front of the large wooden doors leading into the library, reluctant to open them and enter. The archives had been his refuge since he'd arrived in Camelot. Somehow the sheer number of books filled with information about almost every imaginable subject had always made him feel reassured; that the answers to every question he had were somewhere to be found if only he looked in the right place. He knew that there was even a wealth of books about magic locked away in the stacks at the furthest end of the library, and loved to imagine a time when magic was free and he could read them at his leisure.

But today, he only felt awkward, like he did not belong in the scholarly rooms. With a sigh Merlin forced himself to push open the doors and stepped inside. He leaned against the door for a few moments, hesitant to go further, but soon the weight of the book in his hands reminded him of the task still to be done. The young servant chided himself for his feelings of inadequacy but even telling himself that Gaius and Arthur simply had not been in a position to see how intelligent he really was didn't erase his doubts.

Still, he brushed them aside and headed towards the area of the library where Geoffrey kept the books on weaponry and battle techniques, coming to an abrupt halt when he noticed that the archivist was working at a table in the same section of the stacks.

The man always made Merlin feel nervous and somewhat incompetent, but given his last couple of hours the feeling was now tenfold. So naturally, the warlock did not pay proper attention when he slipped Arthur's book into the gap on the shelf from where it had obviously been taken. And of course, Geoffrey, who'd been watching him with disapproval, immediately pushed himself away from the table and huffed his way over to the where Merlin was still standing. The archivist removed the book the warlock had just put away and, giving him a deliberate look, turned the volume right side up, and pushed it back into place.

Merlin fled.


	3. Languages - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N dialogue shown in italics indicates that the language spoken is not English.

Once Merlin was outside in the warm spring sunshine and had started on his errands, his frustrations began to subside, replaced by the simple enjoyment of a beautiful afternoon.

He decided to go first to the silversmith's shop to pick up the Prince's repaired goblet.

"Yes, it's ready," said Eldon, the smith's young apprentice. "Master is keeping it in the strongbox. Just give me a moment to go and get it," he added.

While the boy rushed away to retrieve Arthur's cup, Merlin wandered around the shop looking at the smith's wares. He stopped to admire an ornate hairpin and could imagine Morgana wearing such a thing, although certainly no peasant from Ealdor had ever owned something so fine.

"Merlin," said the booming voice of the silversmith, who had come into the front room of the shop to deliver the goblet personally. "Here it is. Eldon had the honour of repairing it," he said, smiling at the blushing young apprentice.

Merlin's smile returned as he took the cup. He recalled how hard he and Arthur had laughed when he had successfully ducked the thrown goblet only for it to ricochet off the wall and land right in middle of the Prince's bathtub with a huge splash. Merlin paused to look for the small dent and the place where one of the jewels had come loose, and was impressed to see that no trace of the goblet's misadventure was to be seen.

"You've done a good job, Eldon," Merlin said kindly. "The Prince will be pleased with your work."

* * *

With the goblet safely stowed in his bag, Merlin made his way to the leatherworker's shop at the other side of the market. On entering the store, the warlock spied the proprietor sitting at a table over by the window on the left side of the large room. He was busy with another customer but gave Merlin a smile and signalled that he would soon be with the young servant.

While he was waiting, Merlin took in a deep breath. He had always loved the musky smell of new leather, and had enjoyed handling it, appreciating the combination of strength, suppleness and beauty in the tanned skin. Before coming to Camelot, the servant had done many of the simple leather repairs in the small house he shared with his mother. He had even dabbled in some ornamental work like bracelets and hairbands, using scraps given to him by the indulgent local leatherworker. The craftsman had made hints about offering Merlin an apprenticeship when he got old enough, but that was before Will had found out about his magic and his mother had decided it would be safer to send him off to Gaius.

Merlin was running his fingers over the stitching in a fine leather bag when the leatherworker finished up with his customer, making his way over to Merlin as soon as the young lady had been escorted to the door.

"I've got the Prince's saddle, riding gloves and falcon's hood all ready for you, young Merlin," said the man. "But I've found that there is a flaw in the leather of one of the jesses, so I need to make a new one. The other would be fine for a lesser knight, but I would be ashamed to give it to our Prince," he explained.

"Oh, well, how long will it take you to do that?" asked Merlin. "I need to bring the saddle over to the stables. Would you be finished by the time I returned?"

The leathermaster scratched his chin and then nodded slowly. "Aye, it would be just about enough time, though I may still be putting on the finishing touches when you get back."

Merlin smiled, "That's fine. I won't rush. I am sure that Llamrei will not object if I linger to feed her an apple."

The leathermaster grinned. In the short time Merlin had been in Camelot, he had already earned a reputation for his love of animals, and the craftsman was sure a bit of extra time available to spoil the Prince's mare would be put to good use. "I will see you shortly after the next bell then, young man," he said.

* * *

With the saddle delivered and Llamrei happily munching, Merlin found he still had plenty of time on his hands before the leathermaster would be finished with the falcon's jess. He began to make his way back to the shop anyway, but had only gone a few steps when he spotted the baker's boy with a fresh tray of hot meat pies and decided that for once he had time to indulge himself.

After paying for the delicious-smelling pastry, Merlin hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and walked to the sunny space at the back of the large stable building. He made himself comfortable, leaning back against the wall with one leg bent at the knee so his foot rested against the wooden siding.

He had just unwrapped his pie and lifted it to his mouth when two men appeared from around the other side. Merlin recognized one of them as the Irish linen trader who had a stall nearby in the market. Judging by the other man's clothing, he was a fellow Irishman, probably come to deliver new swaths of the popular fabric.

They had not yet noticed Merlin, but since the servant did not really know them he made no sign to draw attention to himself and instead simply continued to eat his pie in silence.

Soon the men began to speak and although Merlin knew it was rude to eavesdrop, he could not help himself. The beautiful lilting rhythm of the Irish tongue was too hard to resist. However, much to Merlin's surprise, the traders were _not_ talking of news or weather from home, or even about drought or banditry along the supply route or any other such things he had imagined two tradesmen would discuss.

What they were talking about was much more interesting and concerning to the young servant.

"… _sent him to give a warning to Odin this morning_ ," the large red haired stall keeper said, causing Merlin to go from casual listening to alertness in an instant.

"A _h, I wondered why he was not here,_ " said the small, bearded newcomer.

Merlin guessed they were talking about the red haired man's usual partner and straightened himself slightly to better hear better what information he had been sent to convey to Camelot's enemy. The young warlock found he had to listen carefully, as the dialect the men were using was a little bit different than that of the itinerant traders that had often made Ealdor a stopover point during Merlin's childhood. The servant was very thankful that many of those traders had amused themselves by speaking to him their musical language when they found him a fast study.

" _What has happened, Alroy? Why could it not wait until I arrived?_ " the man complained.

" _Darragh_ , y _ou are a day late, or I would have been happy to send you in his place"_ the stall-keeper retorted. Dropping his voice slightly, though not enough to prevent Merlin from hearing, Alroy explained, _"A patrol has just returned from the borders and Uther will soon discover that his garrison and outposts are in no shape to defend the area._ _Odin cannot wait until the spring floods have receded; he must move up his invasion so it happens before replacements are sent for the knights stationed there."_

Darragh frowned, " _But why does it matter? Won't the replacements also be affected?"_

Merlin's eyes widened in alarm. The men must be talking about the illness that had taken hold at the borders. The servant did not yet know if it was magically caused or not, but regardless, it seemed that somehow King Odin was responsible.

The stall-keeper narrowed his eyes and glared at his countryman. " _Of course_ , _but it would take almost a full season to incapacitate them,"_ he explained. " _Do you not even recall the most basic nature of the metal?"_ He sounded exasperated with Darragh's lack of understanding of whatever had caused the illness.

Merlin took another casual bite of his pie and chewed slowly, determined to have an excuse to stay and listen to the rest of their conversation. Unfortunately, the piece of pastry he was eating turned out to be rather larger and drier than he'd expected, and caused his swallow to turn into a loud cough.

Naturally this caused the tradesman to take notice of him, and Darragh strode over to where Merlin was trying to be nonchalant about leaning back up against the wall.

"What are you doing here, boy?" the Irishman spat, hands on his hips and glaring at the dark haired boy.

"Um…eating?" Merlin stammered. The servant decided that if he wanted a chance of hearing the rest of the story, he'd be best to play the idiot that others seemed to take him for. "See, I have a meat pie," he added, stepping forward and holding it up to show the trader. "I could share if you like," he offered, putting a frightened tremor in his voice.

"I don't want your pie," Darragh said, slapping Merlin's hand away. "Are you sure that is _all_ you are doing? Tell me the truth!"

Merlin made a conspicuous swallow, his whole head bobbing with the apparent effort. "N… no, sir," he answered, "I …. it's not all."

The Irishman took a step back in surprise at the admission. "NOT ALL?" he roared. "What else are you doing back here! Speak up!"

"I have an apple too….," Merlin whispered and gulped again. "And I came here because… well, it's hidden from the street, and I did not want my master to see me eating it." The servant dropped his eyes, "I was supposed to give it to his horse."

"His … horse…," Darragh said, seeming lost as to what to do next.

"Yes, sir," Merlin admitted, the picture of submission and misery, "I'm sorry. Please do not tell him."

The red-haired trader came halfway to where his countryman still stood before Merlin _. "Leave him, Darragh,"_ he said with a laugh. " _I recognize him - a manservant or something."_ Coming a few steps closer he chuckled again and said, " _From the sounds of him, the idiot can barely understand the King's English. I would not worry about him listening in on anything we say. He's more of a risk to cause a fuss and draw attention if you try to chase him away."_

Merlin managed to suppress his desire to scowl at the words, and left his best dimwitted expression in place, eyes still downcast.

Darragh took another hard look at him, "Mind your place or I **will** track down your Master and tell him you've been deceiving him," he said menacingly, and once he was certain that Merlin was suitably cowed, he turned and followed Alroy back over to the other end of the stable wall.

Merlin let out a breath of relief, and leaned back on the wall once more, making a show of taking a bite first of his pie, then of the apple he'd taken out of his bag.

Darragh folded his arms and scowled at the stall-keeper. " _You seem to know a lot about this plan of Odin's, Alroy,"_ he said. " _I was not told anything other than that Marcel and Armand had sold something to Uther that would incapacitate the entire western border. But I suppose that's because unlike you, my commission means I am always alone on the road rather than living in a well-stocked house in a wealthy city where I can learn such things."_

Alroy shook his head at the slight, and glanced over toward where Merlin was still chewing, eyes cast to the ground, before turning back and answering.

" _Yes, I've stayed in a foreign, enemy land at great personal risk every moment of every day,"_ he spat out. " _I only learned the details because those Frenchmen Odin hired stayed at my house while they were in town last autumn,"_ he added emphatically.

Realizing that the outburst had been louder than they'd intended, both Alroy and Darragh looked towards Merlin yet again, but the servant was leaning back with his head against the wall and his eyes closed, apparently dozing.

Alroy dropped his voice to almost a whisper, though not so low that Merlin had any trouble making out the words.

" _All I know is that the metal is made from an ore that can only be found in a single mine near Nimes, in the south of France, and that it has magical properties,"_ Alroy explained _. "When it is tempered and molded in the artisan forges of the area, it gradually affects the minds of anyone within five leagues."_

Darragh looked confused for a moment, " _But why were Marcel and Armand not affected, or the miners or artisans of the area for that matter?"_ he asked.

" _Marcel told me that they are resistant to its effects. Probably because they've lived with the metal all their lives,"_ Alroy answered.

Merlin stopped himself from nodding at the stall-keeper's conclusion, and continued to listen in case they mentioned something that could lead to an antidote.

His hopes were dashed when Alroy continued. " _Unfortunately I did not see what they'd molded the metal into, nor do I know exactly where Uther sent what he'd purchased, although Armand said Odin would be able to retake all of the towns he'd lost to Camelot in the last three years."_

Darragh confirmed Merlin's fears, " _That is a large area, Alroy. There must be at least six or seven of whatever the item is, spread out over the region."_

" _Yes, that was my impression,"_ the Irishman answered. " _We need to trust that Odin has them well placed. That way it will be several years, if ever, before anyone can work out the cause of the phenomenon and find and eliminate it. Even if the invasion is not successful this year, ultimately Odin cannot fail."_

Merlin finished his pie and took a bite of his apple. He thought about what he'd heard, and hoped that the vague information would be enough to allow Gaius to locate the cure for the illness. He also knew he had to tell somebody about Odin's intentions, not to mention the fact that the Irish linen traders were spies for the enemy King. The young servant looked towards them out of the corner of his eye. They were still talking and so Merlin decided to stay a bit longer to listen in.

" _Do you need me to stay on until Phelan returns?"_ Darragh asked, changing the subject away from invasions and back to more mundane things.

Alroy nodded, " _Yes, I would appreciate that. I could use the help. Phelan usually does the running back and forth to the store room at my house. My stall does not have enough space for shelves, so we keep most of the specialty bolts there."_

" _I've got a full cartload of new linen for you to add to that,"_ Darragh answered, " _and it is the finer stuff this time. I will bring it to your store room later, though you will need to show me where it is."_

" _Yes, of course,"_ the red haired stall-keeper answered. " _Let's go there now. I need to get back to my shop soon, but we can stop by the house first. You can unload the new wares, and then join me at the shop afterwards."_

* * *

Merlin waited for the two men to leave, and had to practically hold himself from running straight back to the castle with his news for Gaius and Arthur. He reasoned that the short time it would take to finish his errands would not hurt anything, and if he faced Arthur without having done so, the Prince might be annoyed and would be less likely to listen to him.

He quickly picked up the jess from the leatherworker's shop, surprising the master when he did not take the man up on his offer to show Merlin the jeweled belt he was working on. It was a commission for the wife of one of Uther's highest ranking knights, and normally the servant loved to linger and talk and admire the work in progress. Instead, Merlin gave a hasty thanks and rushed to the mews to deliver the jesses and hood to the falconer.

Errands done, the young man ran back to the castle, scowling slightly when he caught sight of the Irish linen stall in the distance.

Once inside, he stopped by the laundry room to retrieve Arthur's shirts, whipping them off the drying rack and putting them in the basket he'd left under the bench even though they were not quite dry.

By the time he reached Arthur's chambers, out of breath from sprinting up the several flights of steps, it was only just past midafternoon. Merlin paused to catch his breath, leaning up against the door for a moment before pushing it open and stepping inside.

The room was empty. Arthur had apparently not yet returned from the council meeting.

Merlin stood just inside the door, gaping in disbelief as he looked around the room to confirm its lack of Arthurness. Shaking his head, he walked over to the fireplace and dropped the basket noisily. Shaking out the shirts, he hung them to finish drying and looked back towards the door, willing Arthur to walk through it.

The Prince continued to be absent, so the young servant took the repaired goblet out of his bag and banged it down on the middle of the Prince's desk in frustration. That did not bring Arthur running into the chambers either.

Merlin thought about starting to prepare Arthur's bath, but decided against it. It would be better to see if he could find Gaius and tell him about the metal. Then at least _somebody_ could start making use of his important news.

* * *

"Gaius!" called out Merlin, as soon as he'd pushed his way into the physician's chambers.

His mentor was still preparing medications, bent over a burner on his worktable. Gaius had obviously been hard at work all day. Merlin could see that there were at least twice as many bottles lined up against the edge of the table on the other side of the room as there had been earlier. There were also several scrolls unrolled, along with two books opened and propped up for easy consultation.

"Merlin, be careful. The last thing I need now is for you to knock something over!" Gaius said as the young man crossed the room toward him. Merlin's normal exuberance when he moved about the cluttered rooms had caused minor havoc often enough for the admonishment to become a fond reflex.

"Sorry, Gaius," said the warlock, slowing his pace a notch. "Listen…. I overheard something while I was at the stables," he said. "Something that you need to hear!"

Gaius pushed the beaker he was heating onto the small shelf over the flame and straightened to face his ward. "What is it, Merlin?" he asked. "You look like you are about to burst."

Merlin gave a small smile, "Yes, well I was taken by surprise by the news," he admitted before rushing on. "It was the linen traders, Gaius. I heard them say that Odin caused the illness. It's from some sort of magical French metal. And he is planning to invade!"

Rather than jumping to find books about metals with magical properties, as Merlin had expected, Gaius just continued to look at him with confusion.

"And they were just speaking of it in the stables" he asked, or rather, said, the doubt in his voice, clear.

"Well, behind them actually. But they were talking in Irish, and they did not know that I understood them. I was the only other person around," he answered

That only seemed to increase Gaius' reservations. "Are you sure you translated it right, Merlin?" he asked. "I would have remembered a metal with those properties from my years of researching, but I'm certain I have never come across such a thing."

Merlin scowled, "I know what I heard, Gaius," he insisted.

"Well, I will keep my eyes open for it," the physician promised, though from his tone Merlin doubted he intended to look very hard. "For now, I'm more inclined to think that the illness is natural," Gaius offered. "Some types of mushrooms growing in Camelot near that area have been known to have hallucinatory effects, and I suspect that the villagers may have been out foraging for those, given that they now live within Camelot's borders and are free to roam there."

"Mushrooms?" Merlin asked. "How would mushrooms have affected the _whole_ region?" he asked, trying to show Gaius that he was on the wrong track.

"I have not had time to work that out yet," Gaius admitted. "But so far 'mushrooms' is my best assumption, and since the apothecary has been ordered to leave in two days to bring medications to the area, I need to complete this antidote based on that premise."

The physician reached over and took the beaker he'd set on the shelf earlier, and moved it back over the flames to set it heating again. "If it does not work then the draught you helped me prepare this morning will help the symptoms until we can find the real cause."

"But….," the Merlin began, wanting to remind Gaius that he _already_ knew the real cause.

"But nothing," the physician said, before his ward could continue. "The townsfolk are not in any urgent danger. The illness is very slow acting and does not seem lethal."

"Well, what about Odin?" Merlin asked, for the moment putting aside further attempts to convince Gaius about the metal.

Gaius looked up sharply. "I am sure the knights have already thought about Odin," he said. "Whether the illness is caused by him or not, Uther will ensure that the area is adequately defended if the knights in the garrison have indeed been affected."

"But they said that Odin was going to move up his invasion," Merlin insisted. "Should we not tell the King?"

Gaius shook his head. "It takes time for the King to call in his levees and to prepare for an all-out assault, and I doubt very strongly that he will do an emergency mobilization on the word of an eavesdropping serving boy, Merlin."

The physician held up his hand when it looked like his ward was going to protest again. "I am sorry, but we will just have to trust the planning and intelligence-gathering to Uther," Gaius said. And when Merlin shook his head, he added, "Meanwhile, I _promise_ I will look into French metal as a source of the illness, AFTER I finish this batch of medication."

"Then, could I start…," Merlin tried again.

Gaius cut him off. "Merlin, _please_ …," he said with exasperation. "It is a very busy time and you will be the most help to me right now by carrying on with your usual chores. I rely on you for those."

Merlin gave his mentor one final look of disappointment, but finally lowered his eyes and said, "Yes, of course, Gaius. I was going to go out to the herb garden after dinner, unless you need things earlier."

Gaius smiled when it seemed that his young ward had finally seen sense. "No, after dinner will be fine, Merlin. I can manage without them until then."

"I will see you later then," the servant said as he walked to the shelves of prepared draughts that Gaius kept stored at the side of the room. He began pulling out the bottles he needed to deliver as part of his daily duties to Gaius. "I'm going to straight back to Arthur's quarters as soon as I take care of these," he added, closing the bag and heading to the door without looking back.

* * *

Once he'd begun his deliveries, Merlin decided he had to try once more to pass on his news. He picked up his pace so that he could finish quickly in order to speak with Arthur as soon as possible.

Once the last bottle had been handed out, he rushed to the Prince's chambers, releasing the breath he'd been holding as he opened the door. Arthur was there this time, halfway across the room and looking directly at him.

"Arthur, I have to tell you something," he blurted out.

"Ah, finally back, then?" the Prince asked, as though he had not even heard his servant. "I did not think it would take you this long to pick up those few things I asked for in town."

Merlin put his hands on his hips and glared. "Did you not _notice_ that your shirts are hanging in front of your nose, and your goblet is in the exact middle of your desk?" he asked angrily, even though the Prince's tone had made it clear he was teasing.

Arthur picked up on Merlin's mood at once, and wisely decided not to continue baiting his servant.

"You were not here when I came back," Merlin said, and then shook his head as he remembered that there were much more important things to talk about. "And that's beside the point anyway," he continued. "I heard something while I was out, and I think you need to know about it!"

Arthur scowled. "Well it will have to wait until you have poured my bath," he said. "I am having dinner with my father, the council and some of the senior knights. We need to discuss the situation in the borderlands. Perhaps Gaius has already told you, but there has been some mystery illness take hold there and it has interrupted the spring planting."

"But that's what I want to tell you about," Merlin insisted. "I heard some tradesmen talking about it in the market. It's Odin..."

The Prince raised his eyebrows skeptically at mention of the enemy King. "Odin," Arthur repeated back, and once again Merlin could tell that his news was not going to be believed.

"Yes, and the illness is caused by magic," the servant stammered desperately, hoping the Prince would see the truth.

Arthur just stared at him for a moment. "Merlin, that cannot be anything more than gossip," he said slowly. "Surely you cannot think you have found out anything that my father's councillors and knights did not already know about. Not by standing out in the open marketplace in any case."

Merlin sighed and could not bring himself to say anything.

"Good, now that we've settled that, I am still waiting for you to get my bath," Arthur said with a smile.

"Yes, Sire. Right away," Merlin answered.

Merlin closed the door behind him quietly, and took a few steps down the corridor before slumping up against the wall in defeat. He shook his head in frustration, trying to figure out what he could do to make somebody take his information seriously. Unless the magical metal was neutralized, the illness in the borders would persist until Odin finally recaptured the territory.

Finally he had a thought. It was clear that the only way anybody would take action on his news was if they had actual proof. So Merlin decided he would just have to get that proof himself.

Decision made, he straightened his shoulders with resolve and pushed himself away from the wall. The moment he was finished with his chores, he intended to head straight for the archives.


	4. Languages - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: words shown in italics in places where Merlin is meant to be reading indicate that the written language is not English.

In the end, Merlin had to a wait a little longer than he had hoped for the opportunity to put his plan into action. Although the warlock had originally hoped to steal away and begin his research after having a few quick bites of dinner, once he arrived home from attending Arthur, one look at Gaius convinced him not to rush back out.

The physician looked exhausted, but there he was, still busy preparing a batch of medicine. "Merlin!" the old man said with something that sounded like relief. "I know you have not eaten yet, but do you have it in yourself to fetch some fresh water and firewood for me? I'm almost out, and I really need to finish this tonight," he said, gesturing towards the mixture he was stirring.

"Of course I will get it for you, Gaius," Merlin answered, going straight over to pick up the wood carrier that was on the floor by the fireplace.

The servant soon returned, staggering into the room with both arms wrapped around a full pile of wood, and a bucket of water dangling precariously from three fingers. Once the wood was stacked, and the water safely set on the worktable, the warlock realized that the rosemary was also running low and offered to replenish the supply, even though it grew in a section of the palace gardens that was unlit.

Merlin decided that there was no reason for Gaius to know about the tiny enchantment that he placed on his torch. It increased the brightness just enough that the servant could quickly collect everything he needed without having the fuss about moving the light around. Nor did Gaius need to know about the little spell that Merlin whispered - almost nothing really - that caused the dirt to disappear off the fragrant sprigs as soon as he put them into his basket, which would greatly speed up the time-consuming task of cleaning them by hand.

"You are back quickly," his mentor said, smiling at his ward. "Oh, to be young and spry once more," he added before bending back to his work.

Merlin chuckled, "Yes, well I hurried," he said, setting the rosemary out on the worktable. "You look tired and I wanted to make sure you could get to your bed soon." The servant helped Gaius chop up what they needed of the herb, and then stirred it into the rest of the mixture which was already simmering over the flames.

"I'm glad that's done," said Gaius, wiping his hands on a towel that was lying on the tabletop. A huge yawn split his face even before he had a chance to put it back down. "You are right, I _am_ tired. But thank goodness I've got you here to help me."

Merlin smiled and thought about reminding Gaius that he was capable of doing more than chopping and fetching, but decided to stick with his plan of proving it.

"I think I will take your advice and stop for the night, my boy," Gaius said. "We will have plenty to do tomorrow, so you should not stay up too late either," he added.

Merlin could not help shifting his eyes away from his mentor. He really hated lying to the man, but he didn't feel he had a choice. "I need to go out and do some work for Arthur he said." At Gaius' look of surprise he added, "It's nothing very difficult; I just need to find some books for him about axe-throwing." Merlin decided he'd be best to admit he was going to the archives. After all, Gaius was good friends with Geoffrey, and the archivist could easily ask about Merlin's late-night visit.

"Ah, axe-throwing, is it?" Gaius asked, and Merlin wondered if the physician suspected the real reason.

"Um, yes. I should not be very late. Don't worry, it won't prevent me from helping you tomorrow," he said in a rush, heading to the door.

* * *

Not long afterward, Merlin found himself in the archives. He seemed to be alone, which was not really surprising given the lateness of the hour. Geoffrey was not at his desk, nor near any of the stacks closest to it. The archivist had likely returned to his quarters straight after the dinner with the King and the council.

The young servant breathed a sigh of relief. He felt much more comfortable knowing that Geoffrey was not there to give him disapproving looks every time he touched a book.

"Now, where would the books about enchanted metal be?" he asked himself. "Or maybe there is a section about French trade," he thought, turning in a slow circle to look around the massive library. So far on his visits he'd been sent mainly for books about medicinal herbs or the treatment of illnesses, but he doubted that what he needed would be near those shelves.

For a moment he regretted that he'd never had a chance to ask Geoffrey how the library was actually organized, only to snicker when he admitted to himself that he would never have dared to do so even if he _had_ had the opportunity.

Finally, he decided to start at the same shelf where he had put away the book about French axe-throwing earlier in the day. The section about weaponry seemed as good a place to start as any.

The young servant scanned through volume after volume about making and refining weapons of all sorts, leaving to the side any he found that dealt solely with their use or care. He also skipped over any books about weapons that were not made of metal. Even so, there seemed to be hundreds to go through.

Merlin stopped, "There has to be a way to narrow them down," he thought, and followed with an internal groan. "I don't even know if this is the right section."

He pulled out a scroll on crossbows, and after unrolling it, he just stared at the words without reading for a moment before coming to a sudden realization. "These books are all written in English," he said aloud. Merlin quickly rerolled the scroll and pushed it back into its place on the shelf. "I need to find _French_ books," he said softly, jumping down from the short ladder that he'd been on.

Once his two feet were firmly on the floor, Merlin scowled and, hands on his hips, looked around wondering where Geoffrey kept the books written in foreign languages. Deciding that the best way to find out, short of waiting for the archivist and asking, was to systematically walk past each shelf until he saw some titles written in French. He could only hope that they were grouped together.

Within a short time, Merlin found what he was looking for, though that was largely due to luck. The young man had been so intent on looking for any trace of French on scrolls and book bindings that he had not watched where he was going, and managed to trip over a small crate of what seemed to be cleaning supplies. He tried to catch himself by grabbing onto the nearest upright surface, but that turned out to be a door camouflaged to look like more shelves. Merlin ended up sprawled on the floor in the entryway of the large room behind the door.

"Ow!" said the young man, picking himself up and rubbing at the elbow that had come in contact with the floor when he'd fallen. His bruises were soon forgotten when he realized what he had found. The room was roughly semi-circular, and every bit of wall was lined with library shelves. Shelves that were full of volumes titled in the French he'd been searching for.

Merlin's mouth dropped open at his luck. "Surely there must be something here," he breathed, moving more fully into the room so he could continue his search.

Geoffrey had arranged the books by region, or possibly by dialect; Merlin was not sure exactly which, but imagined it was more or less the same thing. He knew that each region of France tended to have a different dialect. Some were quite similar to each other, others less so. The young servant did not know all of them, but his mother had schooled him in the most common ones, and in his childhood he had loved to practice both speaking and reading in the beautiful tongues.

It did not take Merlin long to find several books related to mining in France, though most seemed to be more of an accounting of the amounts and qualities of the ores found there, and the trade routes for bringing the ores into the towns that could refine them, and from there into the Five Kingdoms.

"Here they are," he said excitedly, pulling out several books about the mines in the regions of Nimes. He opened the first and scanned through it quickly. "Yes, here '… r _are metal can be used in fabrication of amulets to soothe grief and ease bad memories'"_ he read from a scroll titled ' _Properties of metals from the mines at_ _Alès_ _'_. _"_ And this one, ' _Extreme care must be taken in transporting the metal to avoid befuddlement and forgetfulness'"_ he read in a book called, 'T _rade and supply lines in and out of Nimes'._

In all, Merlin found four books that looked promising for his research about how the enchanted metal worked and what it could have been made into to entice Uther to purchase it. By the time the midnight bell tolled, he had worked out that the mine was nearer to Alès than Nimes, and the metal was generally used to make ornaments, usually through molding. These could be things like sword hilts, embellishments for armour, amulets used for medicinal purposes, flag posts, or even crowns and jewelry. It was not used for weaponry, as it was too soft, but it was coveted for its beautiful burnished appearance. Also, trade outside of southern France was not encouraged, due to a strong, undesired long term effect on people who were not accustomed to its properties.

He was pleased with his progress, but with a yawn, Merlin reluctantly had to admit that he would not find the rest of the answers he was looking for that night. He was too tired to keep reading any longer. So, he put the books he'd found into his bag, and headed back to his room, intending to finish his research the next day.


	5. Languages - Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words shown in italics in places where Merlin is meant to be reading indicate that the written language is not English.

Merlin woke early the next morning, anxious to get a start on his chores for the day. He crept quietly down the stairs wanting to avoid waking Gaius, but was not really surprised to see the old physician already up and hard at work.

"Good morning, Merlin," Gaius called out, looking up as his ward reached the bottom step and began to walk towards the worktable. "I did not hear you come in last night." The physician frowned as Merlin drew near. "You look a bit tired, my boy. I hope you were not out too late. Did you at least find what you needed for Arthur?"

"Oh yes," the servant replied quickly. "There were several books on battleaxes and … um … techniques for using them." The servant picked up a knife and absently began to chop the herbs that Gaius had set out at the far side of the table. Looking up he added, "It turned out to be quite interesting and I guess I just lost track of time. But I brought back a few things that Arthur should be able to use."

At the word 'interesting' being used to in conjunction with 'battleaxe' and 'techniques', Gaius stopped his scrutiny of the colour of the liquid in the flask he was holding, and his eyebrow began to rise.

Merlin gulped and hurried to set down his knife and wipe it clean. He wanted to make a quick escape, knowing how easily his mentor could guilt the truth out of him with that particular look. "There Gaius, I've finished that bunch for you," he said as the physician continued to watch him. "But I need to bring these books to Arthur right away. He wants to look through them while he eats his breakfast." Merlin hurried across the room and picked up his bag, hoping that Gaius would not ask to see these information-filled volumes.

"I'm sure he will enjoy them immensely," the physician finally said, though the eyebrow did not lower in the slightest.

Merlin tightened his grip on his bag. "Uh, well, when will you need me today?" he asked, wanting to change the subject away from anything related to his visit to the library. "Should I come back after I get Arthur's breakfast, or stay with him to do my usual chores?

"If Arthur can spare you at midmorning, it would be helpful," Gaius answered, finally lowering his eyebrow and returning to the inspection of his mixture. "I will be ready to begin bottling this batch of the draught by then."

Merlin nodded his understanding, even though Gaius was looking so intently at his flask that he did not see it. "I will ask him, but I'm sure he won't mind." The warlock put his hand on the door, but turned back before he opened it. "Are you sure I can't help you with your research?" he asked, the question popping out before he could stop it. He immediately kicked himself mentally; he had not intended to ask again until he could prove to Gaius that he was more than capable of it.

But rather than the expected frown and quick dismissal of his offer, Gaius looked at him pensively for a moment, shifting his eyes over to the small table still piled high with books and papers and then back to his ward. "Yes, I believe I could use your assistance," he said finally, not noticing how wide his ward's eyes had become at his words. "But I need to organize the work I've done so far, so that I can explain to you how I'd like to proceed and I won't be ready for that until at least the middle of the afternoon."

"I'll be here," Merlin answered enthusiastically, wondering why Gaius had had a change of heart. Actually, he thought, starting in the afternoon would work out even better, since it would give him a chance to advance his own research to the point where he could hopefully be able to convince Gaius that the French metal was where they should concentrate their efforts.

* * *

"Whazza?" came a muffled protest from somewhere in the Prince's bed as the Spring sunlight poured into the chambers from the newly exposed windows.

Merlin took hold of the sheet that Arthur had pulled up to cover his eyes and snapped it back, uncovering the Prince. "Time to get up," he said. "Your breakfast is waiting for you on the table, and I take no responsibility if the sausages are cold by the time you eat them."

Arthur blinked blearily and squinted his eyes against the sun so he could watch his servant puttering around the room for a moment. The Prince's heart gladdened since it seemed like Merlin was back to his old self. "My, my, you _are_ being efficient this morning," he said. "Are you intending to ask for a day off, or a raise or something?"

Merlin turned around in confusion from where he was sweeping around the fireplace. "No, but I'll take either if you are offering," he said with a small smile before turning his back on the Prince and going straight back to his work without another word. The young servant was so absorbed in planning how best to continue his work from the previous night that he had not even thought about teasing Arthur.

Arthur scowled slightly. Merlin was acting more cheerful than he had the previous day, but there still seemed to be something bothering him. Arthur tried to work out how to ask about it, but Merlin spoke before he had the chance.

"Arthur, Gaius has some things he needs help with this morning," the servant said, pausing his sweeping to turn and face the Prince. "Is it all right if I just stay here and get on with my chores until he needs me? I mean, rather than going all the way to the training ground…"

Arthur narrowed his eyes, wondering if Merlin was simply coming up with an excuse to avoid him. Then he noticed the bags under his servant's eyes and wondered if he might be feeling unwell. That could explain why he had been out of sorts in the last day or so.

"Yes, that will be fine," Arthur answered, concluding that letting Merlin have his way could only help the situation, whatever it was. "And I will be having lunch with my father and going straight to the council meeting afterwards," he added. "So as long as you can fit in mucking out my horse's stall sometime during the afternoon, I will not need you until dinner."

"Thanks," Merlin said with a large, genuine smile, leaving Arthur with no doubt that he'd made the right decision.

* * *

Merlin was the picture of competence that morning, quickly clearing the breakfast dishes and helping Arthur dress for the day. As a result, he had Arthur ready and making plans to head out early to try some new training exercises even before the ninth bell had rung.

As soon as he was sure Arthur was down the hall and around the corner, Merlin brought his bag over and set it on top of the Prince's desk, taking out the four books he'd brought from the library, and spreading them out so they could easily be consulted. Next came his parchment, which he set to the side, ready for notetaking. Arthur's inkpot was already there, right in the middle of the desk.

"Oops, I almost forgot," the warlock said, just as he started to pull up his chair. With a brief stretch of one hand and a flash of gold, a simple ward was set on the area outside the heavy doors to Arthur's chambers. Merlin smiled, confident that he would have enough warning to hide the books should anyone come near. He pulled the first volume toward him, and picked up his quill only to stop once more. "Huh…I guess I'd better…" he muttered, and his eyes flashed gold once more. Merlin nodded with satisfaction as he watched the fireplace begin to clean itself and a rag start furiously rubbing away at the dirt on one of Arthur's boots. Sure that his chores were well underway, the young warlock began his research in earnest.

It did not take Merlin very long to make his way through all four books. Unfortunately, though he did manage to confirm what he had read the previous night, he learned nothing new about the metal.

"There must be _some_ way to cure those people," he said, pushing the last book away in frustration.

Merlin put down his quill and with a sigh he leaned forward with his chin on his hands. He shook his head as he glanced over the books that were still lying open in front of him. Suddenly he stopped, and looked more intently at a volume about trade routes in southern France. The book was open on a page showing a map. Merlin pulled it towards him so he could study it again.

"Ok, this is Arlès," he said, touching a point on the map. "But this bit here is marked 'Germany'" he noticed. "I wonder how far that is?"

Merlin pored over the map for a while, looking for something that showed distances. He soon concluded that Germany would not be many days' journey but it was probably just far enough from the mines that the people would not have a built up a resistance to the effects of the metal. "So if this metal is so desirable, then I wonder if the Germans in that area would want it enough to find some way to get rid of the magic in it," he asked himself.

Merlin sat back in his chair and thought about it for a moment. "And the French do not encourage trading it." He leaned forward and looked at the map again. "So, um … maybe that's why they don't have any information about curing the malady." Merlin nodded to himself, convinced he was on the right track. "Easier to scare people off." He sat back once more and scowled. " _Or_ I may just not have found the right book yet."

The young warlock drummed his fingers on the desk for a few moments and concluded that either way, he would not learn much more without making another trip to the archives.

Merlin stood and began to push his books back into his bag, only quickening his pace when he realized that he was late going to help Gaius. With the last book safely stowed, he immediately sent the cloths that were busy putting a shine on the windows racing back into his cleaning bucket. Once he reached the door he glanced back into the room and with a frown, had the bed make itself before he stepped out into the corridor.

* * *

Fortunately, Gaius did not need his help for very long. They quickly bottled up the medicine that the physician had prepared during the morning.

Merlin noticed how the old man had looked at him apologetically several times while they worked. The servant suspected that Gaius was feeling guilty about doubting his ward, but the man never managed to come out and admit it. When Gaius had still not said anything by the time Merlin was ready to do the daily deliveries, the young warlock simply shrugged his shoulders and gave his mentor a smile before putting the bottles in his pack.

Gaius looked at him uncertainly for a moment. "I… am still expecting your help later this afternoon," he said.

Merlin's smile broadened, "I'm looking forward to it," he said, stepping away from the worktable and hoisting his burgeoning bag on his shoulder with a small grunt.

The noon bell was just ringing when Merlin handed the last of his deliveries over to an elderly spinster whose rooms were in the wing of the castle for the families of some of Uther's longest serving knights. He quickly gave her the information about the dosage and about when she should take the medicine, and after bidding her goodbye, the servant rushed straight to the library.

* * *

Merlin slowly pulled open the doors to the archives and stepped inside, looking around for Geoffrey or anybody else who may be working inside. Relieved when he saw nobody, he decided to resume his search in the room with the French books, just in case he had missed something the night before.

He only needed to pull out and scan over a few volumes before concluding that the room held no further information for him. "I wonder of the books in the other foreign languages are near here too," he pondered, as he pushed the scroll he'd just read back into its place in the shelf.

He guessed he was on the right track, for the shelves nearest the room he'd just exited were lined with books in Latin and Greek. Only two aisles later, Merlin found what he was looking for - an entire row of stacks dedicated to works in German.

A short time later found Merlin absorbed in several books about healing, along with several more about metals and metalworking. He laid them all out at a table in an alcove in the wall so he could pore over them looking for any trace of a cure or a way to neutralize the effects of the magical metal. The French books were in a pile beside him, ready if they should be needed again.

* * *

At precisely his usual time, Geoffrey returned from his lunch in order to do his midday inspection of his domain. He was always on the lookout for books left out by researchers, or put away in the wrong places, or worse still, any evidence that rodents or insects had found their way into the library.

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes with suspicion as he drew near the section of stacks where he archived his large collection of foreign language books. He was sure that he heard some shuffling coming from that area. The archivist relaxed when he could make out some muttering along with the sound of pages being turned. A person then; not vermin.

On reaching the end of the aisle that opened to one of the alcoves he had set up to facilitate research, Geoffrey was not surprised to find somebody sitting at the table. Seeing that the person was surrounded by French and German books, the archivist was intrigued and decided to inquire about what he was studying.

Two steps later, he stopped short with dismay when he recognized the Prince's young manservant. Although the boy was facing away from him, there was no mistaking the large ears or the hint of neckerchief that the boy seemed so fond of.

Geoffrey frowned. If the boy had wanted to hide away in the archives in the guise of doing work, he wished he would have at least had the sense to use the common, English scrolls and volumes nearer to the main entry. Instead, he had taken out some which were valuable and fragile, and _not_ to be handled on a _whim_.

Besides, Merlin was not fooling anyone, least of all Geoffrey. Neither Gaius nor Arthur could possibly have requested these ones. Neither man even _knew_ how to read German. Well, most likely the boy could not even tell the difference, the archivist surmised.

H e took another few steps closer, intending to chastise the servant, only to stop short once again, this time in shock. Merlin had his finger tracing along a passage in one of the books, and was reading it aloud…. _in German_.

Certain he must be mistaken, Geoffrey continued to watch the boy. Merlin was so absorbed in whatever he was reading that he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was no longer alone.

"Yes, this is it!" Geoffrey heard the servant say to himself excitedly. " _Complete neutralization can be effected by adding the roots and leaves of monkshood in equal portions to again equal portions of lye and vinegar."_

Merlin moved his finger back a few words, "leaves, leaves…," the boy said. "Hmm, the roots make aconite, but I don't think we keep the leaves for anything."

G eoffrey watched Merlin dip his quill into the inkwell that was always kept handy on the table, and write a few notes onto a parchment the boy had beside him.

"If I'm lucky, Gaius won't have finished using up all of the plants I brought last time," Merlin breathed, putting down the quill.

" Oh, I did not put down the dosage," he said more loudly, leaning over the book again and tracing the page with his finger. "Ah, here it is," Merlin said, tapping the place, " _One dipper is enough for an item the size of two hands."_

The boy suddenly held up his hands so that his palms were facing him, and the little fingers touching together. "Two hands…," he said. "Hmm, a whole dipper just for that little bit? I think we may need a _lot_."

Geoffrey did not have any idea what Merlin was researching, although it sounded vaguely medical in nature. He was very surprised at the boy's seeming proficiency in German though. The archivist narrowed his eyes, slightly angry that Gaius had never thought to mention it to him. His friend should have known that Geoffrey was always on the lookout for people who could read other languages, and knowledge of German was a rare skill in Camelot. Even Geoffrey himself had only a rudimentary grasp of the tongue.

The archivist was brought out of his musings when Merlin began to collect up his things, carefully closing the book he had been reading, and placing it into his bag along with the parchment he'd been writing on and several other books that had been stacked up beside him.

Taking this as his cue to leave, Geoffrey decided he had better head to his desk before the boy spotted him.

The archivist was seated with his head bent over an open scroll when Merlin reached the front of the chambers a few moments later. Geoffrey aimed his usual stern glare to the departing boy, whose eyes widened on seeing the archivist at his place. However, this time the disdain that always accompanied it was completely absent.


	6. Languages  - Part 5 of 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue shown in italics indicates that the language spoken is not English.

Merlin left the library, closing the doors slowly behind him, his thoughts already turned to the next part of his research. "I need to figure out what the metal was used for… and where it got to," the servant muttered. Knowing how to neutralize the magical properties in the objects fashioned from the metal was useless if he could not actually find them.

He absently shrugged his bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, frowning in concentration as walked quickly down the corridor. The servant was so focused that he did not even notice Sir Leon greet him with a nod, only to shake his head with amusement when the Merlin passed right by him without acknowledgment. The knight had become used to seeing the Prince's young manservant rushing about to complete the long lists of chores Arthur set to him each day.

Merlin's frown deepened just as he reached the large entry hall. He came to a sudden stop, eyes widening and mouth opening in surprise as an idea struck him. "It's so easy," he said to himself, beginning to smile. "I just need to check the ledgers. That should have everything!"

Looking out the windows and down into the courtyard, the servant spared a guilty thought for Arthur's horse and its still-un-mucked stall. "I'll clean it twice as well tomorrow," he promised before picking up his pace and climbing the stairway leading up towards the Royal apartments.

* * *

Once he had confirmed that Arthur was not in his chambers, Merlin walked over to the desk, took out his books and set them towards the middle of the table. Bending down, he opened the large bottom drawer and pulled out a thick leather-bound book, placing it carefully down in front of him as he settled into Arthur's chair.

"I just hope that the King paid for whatever-it-was from the Royal Treasury," the servant muttered, with the first hint of doubt he'd had since having his idea.

The Prince had copies of all of the records of purchases made by the Treasury. Uther liked him to be familiar with the entries, and double-checking the figures was part of Arthur's duties. The servant gave a snort thinking that Arthur would never believe it, but Merlin actually found the books quite interesting; they provided a good overview on what it cost to maintain a Kingdom, from bridge and road repairs to food supplies provided to the knights at distant outposts to entertainment expenses for feast days in Camelot. Merlin had even taken them out a time or two in order to practice calculating with some concrete examples, although that was only possible on rare occasions when he was both ahead on his chores and in the Prince's chambers when Arthur was elsewhere.

The servant opened the tome before him, pressing his finger firmly along the centre binding so it lay flat, and began skimming through the pages. He was relieved that Arthur was at the council meeting that afternoon. Although Merlin reasoned that he probably had enough evidence by now to convince the Prince to at least listen to him, he would feel much more confident once he could provide the complete picture.

* * *

The angle of the shadows in the room had shifted around towards midafternoon and still Merlin had not found the entry he had been searching for, though he knew he must be close. "I never knew we bought so much made out of metal," the young servant said to himself. There had been all manner of entries, in the neat handwriting of the royal clerk, about kitchen tools, fences, bells, axes and many other items besides the swords, mail, and weapons that would be expected. So far most of those had been for purchases made from the blacksmith or other craftsmen based within Camelot. The ones which were not purchased from local merchants had been for items either too large to transport, or too few or too many compared to the six or so 'things' that had allegedly been distributed in the border towns. Others were for items that could not have been made from the Arlès metal.

Merlin sighed as he reached the end of the volume and pushed it to the side. "I guess I need to go further back," he said, walking over to the bookshelf beside the Prince's armoire. Arthur kept about a year's worth of ledgers in his chambers, and a new book was started every several months. It was only the active copy that was kept in the drawer; the others were kept in the bookshelf for a time and then finally brought down to Geoffrey for archiving. Merlin clearly recalled the last time one had been moved downstairs, as he'd only been working for Arthur for a few days and had had no idea where to bring it at the time.

"It must be in this one," Merlin reasoned, pulling out the book at the end of the shelf. "The Irishmen said Uther bought the metal … whatevers… in the autumn…" He opened the book at the first page, "Yes, this must be it. These first rows are all dated in August," he said, running his finger down the page.

The servant carried the book over to the desk and laid it out, beginning to skim the pages even before he was fully seated. He had gone through barely a quarter of the volume when he cried out suddenly, "This has to be it!" and jumped right out of his seat. He bent down and scrambled frantically around in his bag, finally pulling out the parchment on which he had been keeping his notes. He unrolled it beside the ledger, managing to drop his quill twice in his excitement before successfully dipping it into the ink so that he could copy what he'd found. _'Camelot ledger entry 'October 3 – purchase of seven finials – dragon rampant – artisan: S France – sold to: Armand Bardou – price: 28 gold pcs'_ he wrote.

Satisified, Merlin put down the quill and resumed scanning the pages. He still needed to find something that would show where the metal ornaments had been sent. "What would Uther have put them on?" he asked himself. "Fancy tent-poles for patrols in that area?" He shook his head, "No, that wouldn't be very practical, and those Frenchmen could not have been so sure they'd get spread out over the whole area," he concluded with some relief. If it were indeed tent-poles they needed to find, Merlin knew they would be hard to track down.

Merlin was still sitting with his head bent over the ledger, so absorbed in his search that he did not hear it when the latch lifted and the door creaked open a short time later.

* * *

"Merlin?" came the surprised voice of the Prince.

"Arthur, why are you back? I thought you were going to be at council," the warlock exclaimed while cursing himself for having forgotten to set up a 'warning' ward.

Arthur walked closer, a look of incredulity at seeing his servant surrounded by books.

Merlin leap up and bent over the desktop trying to cover everything with his arms, but that had little effect given the number of volumes and ledgers spread over the surface of the desk. "It's not what it looks like," the servant blurted out.

Arthur stopped in his tracks. "It _looks_ like you are desperately studying something," he offered.

"Um... okay, well maybe it _is_ what it looks like, then," Merlin said, straightening and dropping himself back into the desk with a sigh.

Arthur chuckled and drew nearer. "And what exactly _are_ you studying?" he asked when it became apparent that Merlin would not volunteer the information. "Stall-mucking procedures?"

The servant raised his eyes to meet Arthur's, and squared his jaw. "I was doing some research on that illness that has hit the border villages," he said firmly.

"Ah," answered the Prince and at seeing how defensive Merlin had become, he softened his tone. "That sounds helpful, but why the subterfuge?"

Merlin stared hard at the Prince, but Arthur seemed genuinely interested. He sighed and picked up the ledger that was still open before him. "You always go on about me being an idiot, and… and you didn't believe it when I told you about the magic metal, so I didn't want you to order me not to look into it."

"Oh…" said the Prince, realizing that he may well have done just that had Merlin told him of his intentions. He looked more intently at his servant for a moment. "You were probably right," he admitted.

Merlin looked away and put the book he was holding back down, frowning.

"And…?" asked Arthur, breaking the silence.

"And what?" asked Merlin, looking back towards the Prince.

"And… have you found anything in … all of that?" Arthur asked, gesturing at the books on the desk.

Merlin caught his breath, "Um, well… yes… I think I have…," he said waiting to see if Arthur would chide him. He was relieved when the Prince simply nodded as though at last he may be ready to listen to Merlin.

"So, have you told Gaius or Geoffrey yet?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shook his head, "No, Gaius would have gotten angry. He… told me to leave the research to him," the servant admitted, "although he was going to let me start helping with it later this afternoon, so I was planning to tell him then."

"And Geoffrey? Didn't you need to ask for his help to find the books you needed?" Arthur asked.

Merlin looked slightly guilty. "Um… no. Actually I made sure to go to the library when he was not likely to be there," the servant said and with a wince he added, "He … scares me!"

Arthur gave a small snort of amusement, and when Merlin looked offended he said, "Don't worry. I'm not laughing at you. It's just that… he scares me too."

Merlin's eyebrows rose in surprise at the thought that Arthur was afraid of anyone, but he began to grin.

"Father had him tutor me, but he used to get so angry when I read aloud," Arthur said, shaking his head at the memory. "I just never seemed to get it right. I'd skip lines and the words just seem to wiggle and dance around, so I guessed a lot. Usually wrong." He looked up at Merlin and smiled, "And my handwriting was even worse," he continued. "I used to spend half my lessons scraping mistakes off the parchment because I kept mixing up the letters or writing them backwards or things like that."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Merlin said, caught up imagining boy-Arthur at his lessons. "I mean, I've listened to you read speeches and things, and they've always seemed perfect to me…."

Merlin scowled as Arthur began to grin. "Don't let it go to your head…," the servant said.

Arthur chuckled again but quickly became serious once more. "I'm glad you think so," he said. "They used to terrify me, but the thing is I don't actually read them, at least not anymore."

Merlin looked at him in surprise.

"I don't even memorize them really," Arthur explained. "I only need a few words as reminders and I don't even need _that_ unless it's a speech someone has written for me. The trick is that I _learn_ the speech if that makes sense."

Merlin's look of confusion deepened. "What's the difference between learning and memorizing a speech?" he asked.

"I mean I put my efforts into knowing what I want to get across," Arthur said. "I make sure that every single point I want to bring out, becomes my _own_. Then even if I don't use exactly the same words or order as when I practice it, it doesn't matter. I'll still be able to convey what I intend. I just _speak_ it like I'm speaking to you now."

Merlin nodded thoughtfully, "Yes I can see that," he mused. "I guess that's why your speeches always seem so natural and full of emotion." Looking up he noticed that Arthur was grinning again, and decided it was _long_ past time to stop complimenting the Prince. "So, do you want to know what I've learned?" he asked.

Arthur pulled up a chair and after only a brief amused thought that their positions at the desk were reversed, he began to listen to Merlin's voice excitedly explaining his research.

As Merlin continued to speak, enthusiastically pointing to his notes and opening the books to the pages where he'd made his discoveries, Arthur found himself quickly switching his attitude from one of polite interest in Merlin's findings to belief in the results and at last to amazement at his servant.

When Merlin pulled out the German volume to show Arthur where he'd found information about the dosage needed to combat the magical illness, the Prince stopped him. "Merlin, wait," he said, causing the young servant to halt in mid-sentence.

"What is it Arthur?" he asked. "I know it seems like we will need a lot of this mixture, but it should not be any problem to make enough. And it's easy enough to find more monkshood if Gaius has not kept the leaves from the last batch."

"But Merlin… this book... it's in German," Arthur said.

The servant looked at him with confusion for a moment. "Um… I _know_ that, Arthur," he said. "I told you, it was the Germans that figured out how to neutralize the metal. So of course they wrote out the instructions in their own language."

"What I mean is… where on _earth_ did you learn to read it? And French too for that matter?" Arthur asked.

Merlin blinked at him. "Oh… well, my mother taught me a lot of it," he said. "She was a lady's playmate when she was small, before she moved to Ealdor, and took lessons with her mistress. I guess she was quite good at it."

Arthur chuckled, "Looks like you inherited her gift," he said, causing the servant to redden and look down for a moment. "But that can't be all. How did you practice? You must not have had a library full of books to study."

"No, but there are more ways – better ways – to learn a language than just with books, Arthur," Merlin said, looking back up at the Prince. "Ealdor is at a crossroads near the borders of three different kingdoms, and we had traders from all over pass through town. A lot of times they stayed in the village and used it as a sort of base camp while they moved about the area. My mother often got hired to attend them because she spoke their languages, and she brought me along." Merlin gave a chuckle, "Or more properly, I would not be left behind. Listening to the strangers speaking was like music to me."

"I can see how that would help," Arthur said. He'd only mastered French himself because his father had briefly fostered him with a knight from France who had fought for Uther when he had taken over Camelot. The noble had taken his duty very seriously and had forbidden his entire household from speaking English to the young Prince. It had not taken many months for Arthur to become fluent, a skill for which he was still grateful.

"It did help me learn the basics," Merlin said, "and once I got old enough, sometimes they'd take me with them to fetch and carry and do the cooking and things when they went off on their trade excursions," he added. "They used to tell me stories from their homelands as we sat around the campfire in the evenings. That's probably where I learned the most." He smiled as he remembered those times. "Some of the men had books with them, a few traded them. I pestered them to teach me to read and for whatever reason a lot of them indulged me."

Arthur could easily imagine that happening. Grownup Merlin had an undeniable, friendly charm, and seemed to make everyone, except possibly the King, like him. Child-Merlin had probably been irresistible. "So, how many languages do you know?" he asked, curious.

"Besides French and German, there were a few dialects of Irish, Welsh, Latin – well I learned that mostly from my mother, Breton, the Gaelic from the northern lands," he listed off. "Oh, and there was this pair of Saracens trading silk; they stayed in Ealdor for a whole winter and taught me a little bit of Arabic, although I don't remember much of it."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Arabic!" he exclaimed. "Geoffrey showed me a scroll written in Arabic once but I looked like some sort of code to me. Do you know how to read it?"

"No, not really," Merlin said, his eyes wandering back to the books he'd piled on the table. "I learned how to write a few letters, and I remember that it's read from right to left; the opposite from how we do it. But the traders had to leave before they could teach me any more than that."

"Still…," Arthur said, pausing until his servant looked back at him. "Merlin… I have to say… I'm impressed…and also little embarrassed that I ever treated you like you had no education. You've certainly got more skills in languages than I do."

Merlin flushed a bit at the compliment, "Thanks, it's been useful sometimes," he said. "Like now, with this stuff," he added pointing to the page in the German book that he was still holding.

"I'll take your word for it, Merlin," the Prince said with a chuckle. "I can't read it." He stood and added more seriously, "But I think it's time to tell my father about what you have found. He will certainly want to take action on it before Odin has time to invade."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Yes, but Arthur, we still don't know where those finials were sent."

"Hmm, true…," Arthur said, sinking back into his chair. "So seven finials spread out in border towns…" He crossed his arm and stared out the window in thought.

"Maybe,.." Merlin began, but the Prince waved him to silence, so Merlin pulled the ledger back out and put his finger on the entry about the purchase of the finials in case Arthur needed to consult it.

"Flag posts," Arthur said suddenly, uncrossing his arms and looking intently at his servant. "He had flag posts made just before Samhain last year. I remember him saying he wanted them placed in 5 villages and at the two garrisons in the area, as a symbol of Camelot's protectorship over the region. He must have used the finials on those."

Merlin jumped up. "That's got to be it, then!" he said, pulling the parchment forward and adding the information to the page without even bothering to sit back down. Looking over at Arthur he asked, "What were the five villages?"

Arthur quickly went over to his bookshelf and pulled out some maps of the region. He brought them back over to the desk and unrolled the scrolls. In no time he and Merlin had identified seven towns that may have received the flag posts along with the two garrisons. "I'm sure my father can tell us exactly where the finials were sent, but even if not, it won't take too long to check all nine places once we are in the area," Arthur said.

"Then we have everything we need," Merlin said. "We just have to convince Gaius and your father that our research is right."

Arthur clapped Merlin on the shoulder warmly, "You mean _your_ research," he said, drawing a pleased smile from his servant. "And it _is_ right, so it will _not_ be a problem. So…I will go and talk to my father, and I will let you handle Gaius."

* * *

Merlin tightened his grip on his bag just before pushing open the door to the physician's chambers. Although the young warlock was excited that Gaius wanted his help with his research, he was apprehensive about how his mentor would react to Merlin having done the work already, and against his orders. Still, Merlin was confident that Gaius would see reason once the servant presented his evidence.

"Merlin, I'm glad you are back," Gaius called out as the servant stepped into the room. "I've got everything ready for us on the table. Just let me finish grinding up this thyme and we can get started."

"Um, well, Gaius, it's just that…" Merlin began, as he walked over to join his mentor at the worktable.

Gaius broke in before Merlin could finish his sentence. "Oh, but you must be hungry, and I've just brewed a pot of tea that we can have before we get to work," the physician said, putting down his mortar and pestle and hurrying over to pour Merlin a cup of tea.

Merlin took the offering, amused. He was more certain than ever that Gaius was feeling guilty over doubting him the previous day. "Thanks," he said, taking a sip.

His suspicions were soon confirmed, "Merlin… I've been wanting to talk to you..." said Gaius, going back behind his worktable and absently picking up a cloth and wiping his hands, thyme forgotten for the moment. "I… well, I wanted to say that I was sorry for being so dismissive about your education."

The warlock looked up at his mentor, waiting for him to continue.

"I know we've used your upbringing as an excuse to get you out of trouble a time or two, but I know better than anyone how untrue the insinuation everybody makes about your intelligence is," Gaius said, apologetically.

Merlin gave a small snort at the reminder. "Well it has come in handy," he said. "You don't have to apologize." Now that Gaius had admitted his mistake, the young servant felt suddenly lightened and did not want to draw out his mentor's pain.

"No Merlin, I _do_ need to," Gaius insisted. "I hurt you and you did not deserve that."

The physician clenched and unclenched the cloth he was holding before realizing what he was doing, put it down and then pushed it away from himself. "I guess that your original offer caught me by surprise," he said. "I've always done this type of research by myself, and I'm very set in my ways as to how to go about it," he explained. "I could not imagine you being of help at first, I'm sorry to admit."

Merlin answered gently, "So you said."

Gaius gave a quick smile before turning serious once more. "I was so busy that I did not have time to stop and think about how wrong the excuse I gave you was, until after you had gone to the archives last night." The physician paused and went to fetch his own cup of tea, taking a sip before continuing. "As soon as I lay in my bed, I immediately realized that you were right and that my premise about the mushrooms was flawed; _and_ that you have already shown yourself to be quite proficient in deduction and also in writing."

Gaius looked down, and noticing his half-ground thyme he put down his cup and picked the pestle back up. "And I also realized that your idea about the metal was not so farfetched," he continued, resuming his grinding. "I could easily have missed learning about it since over the years I've mostly concentrated on local artifacts. We can presume that any information about it is contained in books from France."

"You can't _imagine_ how glad I am to hear you say that," said Merlin with a grin. "That makes what I have to tell you much easier."

Gaius raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh? What is that?" he asked.

"Well, since nobody seemed to want to listen to me yesterday, I decided to figure it out on my own," he said, and proceeded to tell Gaius everything he had learned.

Gaius had gone silent early on in Merlin's explanation, but both eyebrows had risen and his mouth had begun to open as his peasant-boy ward had run through the facts listed on his note-filled parchment, and had pulled out document after document to substantiate the information.

"And so, do you think we have enough monkshood to make the neutralizing draught?" Merlin asked, wrapping up his research. "Or I guess it's not really a draught since people don't drink it, is it?"

Gaius continued to look at the boy, dumfounded, for a few moments. Finally, he shook himself out of his musing, "Merlin! I don't know what to say. The work you've done here is almost beyond belief," he said.

"Heh, I hope that's a good belief and not a bad one," he said with a hopeful chuckle, although his eyes held some apprehension in spite of his mentor's earlier apology.

"Oh, my boy," Gaius said, his voice almost breaking with emotion. The physician had not missed Merlin's uncertainty and he was dismayed to know that he, who valued literacy and intelligence so highly, had put that doubt there. No, he corrected himself, it was not doubt, at least not in his abilities. Merlin had, rightly, enough confidence in his abilities to go behind Gaius' back to prove himself. What Merlin doubted was whether Gaius believed in him yet. "I am just a stupid, old man," he said, his voice husky. "The work you have done here, piecing this all together by yourself in … just one day… unbelievable! And … all of these _languages..._ " Gaius put down the mortar and pestle he still held and headed decisively over to the low table that was covered in the books and scrolls that he'd just organized in expectation of their afternoon research. He began closing them and piling them up haphazardly, pushing them to the edge of the table. "Come over and help me here," he said, turning back to his ward. "We need to make space for your things."

"Now, run me through that remedy again, and let's see if we have everything we need," the physician said, once there was enough room on the table for Merlin to lay out his notes.

* * *

Merlin and Gaius had just finished checking their supplies, and come to the conclusion that they would indeed need more monkshood, when a knock came at the doors to their chambers.

"The King has requested your attendance in the throne room," said the young messenger once Gaius had opened the door.

The physician turned to Merlin, "I guess the monkshood will need to wait," he said. "Best collect up your research; I expect Uther wants to know what it contains."

* * *

They entered the throne room a short time later, to see Arthur standing beside his father.

"Gaius, Arthur has brought me some information about the illness affecting the western borders," the King said as soon as the physician had crossed the room to stand in front of him. "I would like your opinion on its validity before I change the plans we have already put in place to deal with this matter."

Gaius glanced at Merlin before answering, "Yes Sire, it would be my pleasure."

Just then Geoffrey bustled through the doors and rushed to join the others. "I'm sorry I took so long, Sire. I was putting books away on the top shelf at the far end of my library when I received your summons."

Uther held up his hand to cut off the archivist, "It is of no concern, we were just about to begin." Turning towards his son he added, "Arthur, please explain the conclusions of your research to Geoffrey and Gaius."

"Actually, Father, it was Merlin's research, not my own," Arthur said, giving a smile to the young man.

"Your _servant_?" asked Uther, disbelief oozing out of the words. Uther turned his penetrating gaze on the young warlock. "Explain how you worked this out, boy."

Merlin gulped and moved forward a step. Taking a look first at Arthur and then at Gaius, who both nodded encouragingly, he began to tell the King about everything he had done since the previous day from when he had first overheard the Irish traders, to the point where he and Arthur had tried to narrow down the likely locations for the finials.

Unfortunately, Uther seemed to become more and more skeptical as Merlin talked about using his Irish, French and German information sources, and about going through the ledgers. Once the young servant had finished his recounting, Uther scowled and sat back on the throne. Turning to Arthur he said, "I find it unlikely that a serving boy could have found and correctly interpreted information like this. Have you verified everything he has said?"

Arthur frowned and gave an apologetic look to Merlin, but had to answer honestly, "I have checked what I could, but as I was not there when he overheard the Irishmen, and since I cannot read German, I have not been able to confirm everything. But…"

Before the Prince could continue, Uther turned to the physician. "Gaius, do you agree with the boy's findings?" he asked.

"I do, Sire," the physician answered emphatically. "Merlin's research is meticulous, and his conclusions make perfect sense."

"However, if memory serves, you do not read German either and so cannot corroborate the information about the remedy for this… magic metal," Uther insisted.

Gaius hesitated but then had to admit, "No Sire, I cannot."

"Geoffrey?" Uther asked, turning to the archivist.

"I'm afraid my knowledge of German is fundamental at best," he answered, "but I did see the boy in the library and heard him speaking the language. Much to my surprise he appeared most fluent, Sire."

Geoffrey gave Merlin a nod of what appeared to be respect, causing the young man's mouth to fly open in disbelief.

Uther drummed his fingers on the armrest of the throne for a moment. "Show me the book," he ordered at last.

"Yes Sire," Merlin said, rooting around in his bag until he could draw out the book and hand it to the King. "The information is on the 74th page," he added nervously.

Uther opened the volume and read the page for himself, but as his own German was also limited, he could not confirm the findings either. What he needed was somebody who could read German fluently. A noble and so beyond reproach. "Guard," he called out to one of the men on duty at the door. "Bring Sir Reinold to me," he ordered.

* * *

"Reinold, we need a favour from you," said Uther, smiling at the elderly German knight who had been helped into the throne room shortly after he had been summoned. "Would you mind translating this passage for us?" he asked.

The old man waved his walking stick at the King. "You brought me away from my dinner to read stories to you?" he asked, and on spying Merlin to the side he changed the direction of his stick and waved it towards the young man. "Why did you not simply ask the boy?"

Sir Reinold hobbled a few steps closer to the young warlock. " _What is this all about?_ " he asked.

Dipping his eyes in embarrassment, Merlin answered softly, " _I've told them what it says, but since I'm just a peasant the King does not believe me._ "

" _Ridiculous, although perhaps I should not be surprised,_ " Sir Reinold responded. " _Uther would not believe…_ "

Perhaps it was fortunate that the King heard his name before the old knight could finish his thought. "The boy has made claims, and I simply wish to corroborate them," Uther cut in. "After all, he is not a knight and therefore not subject to its code of ethics."

Sir Reinold chuckled, "Well, perhaps not," he said, "but ethics do not teach German, and this young man knows it very well. He is often kind enough to stay and read to me after he has brought me my medicine." He shuffled back towards the throne, "My eyes are not what they once were, and there are very few in Camelot who would be able to do so," he explained. "And at my age, although I love Camelot and do not ever regret staying to serve you, sometimes it cheers my heart to hear the language of my youth."

The King gave Sir Reinold an indulgent smile, "Yes, I can imagine it does," he said, surprising Merlin with the rarely-seen compassion Gaius had said was common during the King's early reign. "So can you confirm that the boy has the capacity to read and understand a work of this type?" Uther asked, gesturing to Geoffrey to bring forward the book Merlin had used.

"Oh yes, anything he has set his mind to, I'd wager," said the elderly knight with no hesitation. "But here, since you seem to need more proof of the matter, let me take a look and see what it says."

Uther sat back on the throne while Sir Reinold brought the book close enough to read, and quickly confirmed Merlin's findings.

The King then shifted his gaze and let it rest thoughtfully on the servant for a time. "Very well," he said finally, without completely being able to hide how impressed he was with the boy. Then, with no further regard for Merlin, Uther turned towards Arthur. "You will be riding out with the group leaving tomorrow. I expect you to bring enough of the neutralizing mixture to remove the magical taint from each finial. I will provide the names of the towns at breakfast just before you leave."

His instructions given, he rose from his throne and swept from the chamber.

* * *

One morning a week later, Merlin and Gaius were once more summoned to the throne room. Uther was hearing petitions from the townsfolk, and spared them a nod as they entered the room. Merlin followed his mentor to the side of the room in order to wait until Uther, with Geoffrey at his side, finished the weekly duty.

While they waited, Merlin looked around and noticed with surprise that Arthur was standing not too far away from his father, on the other side of the throne from where Merlin and Gaius were. The Prince was talking quietly to Sir Leon, grinning at some joke the man must have told him. Arthur looked clean and well-rested; he must have returned from the Borders the evening before. Merlin had a momentary pang of hurt and jealously at not having been called to serve his master, but then chided himself. He would not even have been available to attend Arthur since he had been out helping Gaius until well after the midnight bell. Babies rarely chose to be born at civilized hours, as he'd realized very early on in his days living with the physician.

Once the last petitioner had left the hall, the King called Arthur and Sir Leon forward. He smiled at them and said, "I am glad to see you home from the Western borders so quickly, and I have been advised that the journey was successful."

Both men nodded, "Yes, Sire. All went well." Leon answered.

"Before I ask you to give your report to the council, I ask Gaius and the servant, Merlin, to also come forward," Uther called out. "And guards, I require the Irish linen tradesmen to be brought before me."

Merlin followed Gaius to where Leon and Arthur were already standing and waited, frowning, for the Irishmen to come into the throne room. He wondered what the King was going to do with them, now that Merlin had implicated them with the malady on the borders.

Once the guards had escorted the two wary men before the King, Uther stood and glared at them, and then turned toward Merlin, "Are these the men you overheard in the market?" he asked.

"Y…yes, Sire." The warlock stammered.

Uther nodded at the confirmation and resumed glaring at the traders. "Geoffrey, I would have you read the charges against these men," he said.

Geoffrey unrolled a parchment he held, ready in his hand. "You, Alroy and Darragh of Ireland, along with your countryman Phelan, and the French traders Armand and Marcel Bardou are hereby charged with treachery against the Kingdom of Camelot, and with spying for her enemy, King Odin," the archivist read aloud.

"Have you anything to say in your defence?" Uther asked.

Both men's eyes popped open in alarm, and Alroy spun to face Merlin before turning back to the King. "Sire, I do not know what this stupid boy has told you," he said, "But I can assure you that Alroy and I are but simple tradesmen."

Darragh forced a laugh, "Sire it is true he may have overheard a few words when we were talking, but our conversation was in _our_ language, and this boy could barely string a sentence together in _English_. He was mumbling on about stealing apples meant for the horses, of all things." Darragh turned an outraged look towards Merlin, as though he'd been sorely wronged. "He is likely trying to have some revenge on us, for I threatened to turn him in for his dishonesty. Have him flogged for lying and making trouble towards honest merchants, and please let us put this nonsense behind us."

Uther sat back on his throne and said only, "I think not," before gesturing towards his son. "Arthur, please make your report," the King ordered.

"Yes Sire," Arthur began. "As per your orders, Sir Leon, myself and the apothecary along with ten knights set out for the garrison at Marneford seven days ago. We brought with us a mixture made by the physician Gaius and his assistant Merlin, which through Merlin's research was determined to cure the effects of a metal originating from Arlès, France and which has magical properties."

Merlin felt very self-conscious at having his name so prominently mentioned in a report to the King. Although sometimes the warlock longed for recognition for the things he did, actually getting that recognition turned out to be surprisingly uncomfortable! Still, it was a nice change.

"On arriving at Marneford, we found every knight in the garrison to have been befuddled by the magical metal," Arthur continued. "However, we removed the finial from the flag post at the gates, and after treating it with our mixture, the effects began to wear off almost immediately."

Merlin looked over at the linen traders. Alroy was pale with his mouth agape, and Darragh stood with his fists clenched, his face red with outrage and disbelief. The servant glanced at the King who was also watching the merchants. It was obvious that the two Irishmen had known exactly what would be found at Marneford, and equally obvious that they were dismayed by Arthur's report.

The Prince was not yet finished though. "Sir Leon and five knights stayed at Marneford to ensure an orderly return to health of the garrison knights," he said. "I continued on with the apothecary and the rest of our group through the five villages and to the garrison at Elston. We negated the metal on the finials at each of these locations, and, as at Marneford, the affected people immediately began to improve."

Leon nodded his confirmation, and Arthur continued once more. "I am happy to report that at the time we left the border region two days ago, both garrisons had returned to full operational capacity, and the villages in the area had all begun their spring planting. In addition, on the day before we left, three advance scouts sent by Odin were intercepted and killed."

Arthur turned and directed the last of his report to the linen traders, "We should face no further risk of invasion from Odin, but _should_ the King make any attempts, we shall be ready for him."

"Excellent work, Arthur, Sir Leon," Uther said, rising to his feet once more. Facing the Irishmen he said, "I trust that you have realized by now what the servant Merlin overheard." Raising his voice, he said, "Merchants Darragh and Alroy, along with Phelan, Armand and Marcel Bardou, you are hereby banished from Camelot for life. Should you be found in these lands again, you will be summarily executed." Uther next turned to the guards, "These men have until midday to pack as many belongings as may be carried on one horse each. The rest of their possessions are forfeit to the crown," he commanded. "You will escort them out of the Kingdom by the fastest route." The King sat once more, "Now, remove them from my sight."

* * *

Merlin was sitting on the floor in Arthur's chambers later that day, polishing the grime of the Prince's weeklong journey off of his armour when someone knocked at door.

The young warlock glared at the Prince for a moment. Arthur was standing only a few feet away from the door, holding a cup of wine in one hand and completely absorbed in a reading a report that he held in the other. "Fine, I'll get it," complained Merlin, extracting himself from the chainmail hauberk and crossing the room at a trot.

Arthur chuckled, glad to hear his servant's cheeky response after a week on the road without him. He had considered bringing Merlin with him, but had decided against it as the servant was still new to riding a horse, and the terrain near the borders was treacherous in places and needed to be taken at speed.

"Sir Geoffrey," Merlin said letting the man into the room. "What can we do for you?" It was rare that the archivist came to see Arthur unless it was to retrieve books or ledgers that had been borrowed from the library, but there were none in the room just then.

"Yes, I need to talk to Arthur," Geoffrey said. "…Actually I need to talk to both of you," he added.

"Both?" asked Merlin, sharing a confused look with Arthur, both young men wondering what the archivist needed.

Geoffrey looked at Merlin intently for several moments. "When I heard you reading German last week, and witnessed your deductive reasoning in working out the cure to the Arlès metal, I was, … well... _impressed_ , would be the right word," he said, drawing an immediate blush from the young servant and a smile of pride from Arthur.

"I like learning, and my mother was a good teacher," Merlin said modestly. "Although it did not do me very much good at home in Ealdor," he added with a grimace. "My townsfolk thought it useless, since it never did help my ability to farm."

"You would have been _wasted_ there, then," Geoffrey responded emphatically. The archivist was offended that anyone would think that _learning_ was a useless activity. "And what you have shown goes beyond being well taught, my boy. You have a fine mind – _very_ fine. I would never have looked for it in a peasant boy, but I certainly cannot deny it."

Merlin turned an even deeper shade of red.

Geoffrey turned back to Arthur, "And so … your Highness, if you would not mind sparing Merlin for the rest of the afternoon and evening, I would appreciate his help. I am researching protocols for dealing with the envoy from Dubb Linn that will arrive next week to discuss a trade route involving their port. Most of my books on the subject are in Irish and so he may be of assistance.

"Protocol research?" Arthur asked, raising his eyebrows. That was _definitely_ not the Prince's idea of an interesting way to spend an afternoon. He was about to provide an excuse for his servant, but glancing over to the young man it was clear from the way the Merlin was practically bouncing on his feet that he was more than excited by the opportunity. "Of course I do not mind, Sir Geoffrey," said Arthur, getting a grateful grin from his servant. "After all, who am I to deny you one of the finest minds in Camelot?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the conclusion of "Languages". I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing. It's very satisfying to let Merlin be acknowledged for his accomplishments and finding ways to make that happen is one of the main things that drove me to write fanfiction.
> 
> I'm already working on Chapter '3', although I need to get a little bit further on it before I begin posting. Hopefully you won't need to wait too long though.


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